The Lion King: Dark Revelations
by Delta2060
Summary: Following the events of Kiara's Fate, the pride flees from an invasion force by the Muuaji, the creatures fighting the Skylands lions. With hope becoming increasingly scarce as events unfold, one twist leads to another, and another, until there's one final fight to save not just the Pridelands, but the whole world.
1. Chapter 1

**So here we are. Chapter 1 of the last story in this series, uploaded on Christmas day (at least it is where I am in England). I'm glad that so many people have been enjoying these and this is the one that will end the series with a bang. I tried to make something very extravagant here and it turned out quite good in the end. Anyway, chapter 1 is a bit mysterious but all will be revealed in good time, my friends. *chuckles*.**

Chapter 1

It had been years since she was last in these lands, and now she was standing in the very canyon that she had supposedly died in. The ground was moist beneath her feet, an indication that the canyon had flooded at one point. That was just one of many things that had likely changed since she was last here.

"Good old home."

For the past few years she had spent her life a long way away from the Pridelands. Ever since the incident that had made everyone here believe she and the others were dead, she decided that it was best for her to leave and avoid complications. She wondered if all her old friends were still here, or if some of them were even still alive. It had been a long time after all. time to see how her old friends would react. She headed off towards the centre of the Pride lands, fast, leaving a yellow streak behind her.

* * *

Another successful day of ruling the Pride lands had gone by. The two lions knew the pride was unhappy with having them as leaders, but they didn't care. Their philosophy was that they should be in charge of everything, at all costs. Lions over all.

The dark one was accompanied by his mate just before he was about to consult his masters. The orange powder was already spread out on the rock platform.

"With all these plans in place we're guaranteed victory till the very end." She said, nuzzling up to Him, although with her it was hard to look loving at all.

"That's my field of expertise, my dear. It's how I came to be in power. Always have one more plan and you'll never fail." He replied. "Is Nuka asleep?"

"Yes. Fast asleep. We can start now."

"Great."

The dark lion then began summoning his masters. Not Mohatu, but his _'other'_ masters. The ones Mohatu wasn't aware of. At least not their alliances anyway.

The ghostly figure hovered above the stone with a sense of power. It had a body that was floating with multiple legs hanging from under it.

"Am I through to Muuaji command?" The dark lion asked.

"This is Muuaji command. Please state your identity." The figure answered.

The dark lion replied.

"Scar. And my mate, Zira."

"Ah yes. Scar and Zira. You'll be wanting to know if we've arranged this backup scenario for you yet. You'll be happy to hear that we have. As long as you continue to serve us the deal remains active."

"I must thank you, sir. That fool, Mohatu, thinks we're helping him in his quest to destroy his own people. But our loyalty does indeed rest on you."

"Make sure it stays there and you will be rewarded. Now we must go. There are matters to attend to."

The Muuaji figure then vanished, leaving Scar and Zira alone in the cave. How smart of them to double-double cross their two supposed allies in an attempt to destroy them both. All for their own gain. In other words, they had made sure that they would have the last say in the final battle.

* * *

That was a couple years ago now since she returned to the Pridelands. All the time she'd been back she hadn't been able to bring herself to meet with her old friends again. The only person she'd been able to meet with was a former outlander lionesses with purple eyes. Ever since the lioness had been hiding her in this den, away from the rest of the pride. But now she could hear chaos outside. Things were flying in the air and animals were running scared. Many were being killed in fact. It looked like her secret presence would soon be revealed. But what would they think of it?

 **A couple of things to think about here. Yes, Scar and Zira are back (albeit still in the past at this point), and who was that person at the start and end of this chapter? Maybe you can work it out but you'll find out anyway further down the line. So yeah, that's the first chapter and I hope it was a good start. Next chapter we'll be returning to the action that the previous story left off from. Chapter 2 should be up in a few days.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's where we pick up again from where the last story left off. It's quite an action oriented start and expect to see more stuff like it later on. Enjoy for now though.**

Chapter 2

Rafiki's tree was in sight. The ones that had managed to get into the group during all the chaos were all bound for there. Rafiki was leading the way with Kion, Vitani, Maisha, Mpenzi, Tiifu and Zuri following behind him. And behind them was Timon, Pumbaa and Zazu. And right at the very back of the group was Kovu, carrying Kiara's body on his back. He wasn't leaving her until he'd said a proper goodbye. But as he was running he thought he could feel her move, just a bit. And it didn't feel like it was just her body being jogged from his running. However, there was no time to stop and check. There were Muuaji closing in all around them. It was a miracle that none of them were hit by their projectile attacks.

A Muuaji soldier swooped in from the right, heading for Kion. Kovu called out.

"Kion! Right!"

Kion looked to his right and ducked. The Muuaji flew over his head, but Kion took a swipe at its underside. He was brought up into the air along with the hostile creature and kept clawing at it until the now dead body came falling back down to the ground. Kion jumped from the top of it and landed on the ground, safe from the explosion that followed upon the Muuaji's impact with the Earth. A narrow escape.

Soon the racing towards the tree was resumed. Rafiki reached the entrance and stood outside while he rushed everyone else inside, taking note of each of them as they went in.

Vitani, Maisha, Mpenzi, Tiifu, Zuri, Kion, Timon and Pumbaa, Zazu. And finally Kovu with Kiara.

"Thanks, Rafiki." Kovu said as he rushed inside.

Rafiki followed them in and sealed off the tree entrance with a combination of large pieces of tree bark and logs. Hopefully that would keep them safe for the time being.

The tree was much bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside. It was definitely big enough to house them all in there. Rafiki hopped up onto a platform with some pots of paint resting on top while the lions checked each other over for any injuries. Thankfully none of them had any, at least not major ones. Kovu rested Kiara down on the ground near a pile of big leaves and went to Rafiki.

"OK. So what are we going to do?" He asked.

"How should I know? You were de one who brought us here." The crazy monkey said in response.

"Well I was hoping that you'd have some idea of what to do against those things."

"Nope. I have nedder seen dem before. You on de oter hand, have. So what do you suggest, Kovu?"

Kovu thought for a moment. How was he supposed to know how to fight the Muuaji? He had only run away from them so far. Twice. Then he remembered something.

"I think we should get those hyenas here. They were involved in this thing way before any of us. If anyone who's still alive knows about them, it's going to be the hyenas."

"You will need somebody to go and get dem though. Dey are still at Pride rock after all."

"Don't worry. I'll think of a way to get them here."

Kovu turned away and was about to begin formulating a plan. But he turned back to Rafiki just to request one more thing from him.

"Oh and, Rafiki. Could you do another examination on Kiara? Only I swear I felt her move by herself on the way over here. I could be wrong of course but, you know, it would make me happy just to know."

"Of course. Anyting else?"

"No. That's all for now. Thanks."

Now it was time to come up with a way to get Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to the tree safely. Not an easy task by any means but they couldn't risk not finding out if they knew something that could help them.

Meanwhile Rafiki begin another examination on Kiara. Just to please Kovu's conscience.

 **Safe... For now. I'll admit that this one does get quite action/Sci-fi movie-ish as it goes on. It's probably one of the furthest things you can get from traditional Lion King really, but I hope it's still enjoyable for ya'll. Chapter 3 will... Oh, you know the drill by now.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Right, so yeah, chapter 3. Just a continuation of the previous one with really. But the hyenas are coming back in this one so YAY to any one who likes the hyenas.**

Chapter 3

Outside the massacre was still ongoing. Muuaji soldiers were murdering lions and other animals left right and centre. They looked like they were never going to stop.

She could still hear the sound of death coming from outside the den. If things didn't quieten down soon then she would have no choice but to reveal herself to the rest of the pride. That is, if there were any members of the pride still alive by then.

* * *

They had to come up with a way of getting Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to Rafiki's tree without getting killed. Not an easy task. Kovu was hard at work thinking of a plan. Then he thought of something. But it wasn't a very safe idea. What if one of them acted as a distraction so he could go and get the hyenas? It might work. But who would be willing to draw the Muuaji's attention long enough for him to succeed? Guess he would just have to ask the people here. Here it goes.

"OK everyone, listen up." Kovu called.

Everyone in the tree turned their attention to their king.

"I've decided that our best chance right now is to get the three hyenas here. Now I know that sounds like a stupid thing to do but they were involved in this when it all started. So we can't afford not to know if they have an idea about these things."

Mumblings and mutterings began amongst the lions. None of them though seemed to disagree with Kovu.

"But there's something I need a volunteer to do first."

Everybody started listening again.

"I need someone to cause a distraction for those things out there so I can head back to Pride rock and fetch the hyenas. Do I have any volunteers?"

No one answered at first. Of course they wouldn't. But sooner than expected someone called out. It was Vitani!

"I'll do it."

Kion immediately responded.

"Vitani. You can't go out there."

"Kion. I'll be coming back. Don't worry."

Truth was she might not come back. But if she didn't go then none of them had any chance at survival. Kion must have realised this as he didn't make much of an argument afterwards.

"OK. Just promise you'll be careful." He said.

"I will. I promise. I'll see you later, Kion."

"I hope so."

Vitani went to Kovu next and the two began a discussion in private.

"Alright. You know what you have to do?" Kovu asked his sister.

"Yeah. I'll run off in the opposite direction to Pride rock and draw them away. Meanwhile you hurry and bring the hyenas back."

Seems like there was nothing more to say. Both lions knew what they were doing and that was that. So they both stood by the tree entrance and turned back to the crowd behind them.

"If we aren't back in half an hour you're to start working on a new plan. We're heading out now."

Kovu then removed the blockade from the entrance way and spoke quietly to Vitani.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. OK, here I go."

Vitani waited a second before racing off in the direction away from Pride rock. Thankfully all the Muuaji in the area began to go after her. Kovu waited until he couldn't see any of the flying terrors and then he took off towards Pride rock.

* * *

"Where the hell have all those lions gone?" Banzai snapped.

"I don't know. All I can hear out there is chaos. Pity we aren't the ones causing it."

The three hyenas were still in the lower cave of Pride rock. In the lions' hurry to escape the attackers they had forgotten to take them with them. Typical. It's always the hyenas that get left behind. Always the hyenas that got blamed for everything. Always the hyenas that got stepped on, chewed up and spat out.

Ed suddenly laughed out of nowhere. God knows why.

"Why on Earth are you laughing?" Shenzi said. "Do you see anything funny around here, or are you just thinking about your own face?"

Shenzi was beginning to get annoyed with being stuck in a cave with Ed for so long. Maybe there was a chance that the lions would come back for them. That was the only way they were getting out of here. Only a lion could move the boulder standing in front of the cave exit. What the hell was even going on out there anyway? Whatever it was, it was certainly noisy.

 **Still not much yet but bear with me, things will unfold. So yeah, Shenzi and CO are still there and hopefully the lions will be able to get them back to safety. By the way this is the longest story I've done so far, dunno why I wanted to point that out but I did anyway.**

 **P.S. Tomorrow is my birthday (December 31st), yeah I know, what are the odds? So feel free to, well... Whatever, you know. And keep an eye out for chapter 4 coming soon as well.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Happy New Year! And to celebrate here's chapter 4! Enjoy.**

Chapter 4

As Vitani ran she was ever so careful not to be hit by the Muuaji's shots. She may have volunteered to distract these things, but there was another reason she did it. She had a plan. She was going to shake off her pursuers and then head to a secret den she sometimes went to. There was something important there she wanted to bring back to Rafiki's tree. But how was she going to make these things lose track of her?

There was a canyon coming up ahead. If she jumped down into it and caught a branch or something before they saw her, maybe they would think she was dead. It was her only plan right now, so she was going to go for it.

About ten feet away from the edge of the canyon now. Vitani leapt out and landed in a small alcove on the other side of the canyon wall. Out of sight of the ones chasing her. She could see them in the sky above as she took deep and quick breaths after running so fast and so far.

"Please... Don't see me..."

After a few moments the Muuaji above turned and headed off into the distance, much to Vitani's relief. Hopefully she gained Kovu enough time to get the hyenas from Pride rock to the tree before they were found.

Vitani began climbing out of the canyon. There was a convenient formation of rocks that allowed her to do so with next to no effort. Which was just as well because she could barely stand right now from the exhaustion of sprinting half way across the Pridelands.

She went in the direction of her den, keeping a close eye on the sky for any sign of those creatures.

* * *

Kovu had had to duck down several times in the area near Pride rock. There were still lots of Muuaji patrols in that area. How many of these things had come to the Pridelands? A hundred? A thousand? More perhaps? There were certainly a lot of them. What did they want as well? In the Skylands they were trying to take over the place from the lions. Could they be attempting the same thing here? It would explain why they were killing everything that moved. Perhaps the hyenas had some answers.

Kovu looked behind him once again before pushing his body against the side of the boulder blocking the entrance to the lower cave. The huge rock eventually shifted and the entrance was accessible. Kovu entered and called out to the hyenas.

"Shenzi? Banzai?"

He looked closer into the darkness.

"Ed?" He said a bit quieter.

"Oh, so you've finally come back for us now have you? What took you so long?" Sneered the voice of Shenzi.

Moments later she and the other two grey creatures stepped into the light being let in through the entrance way and into Kovu's view.

"What took me so long?" Kovu repeated. "Don't you know what's going on out there?"

"No." Banzai spat. "Wanna know why? Because we've been cooped up in here for the last couple days."

"Look, I'm sorry about that. But that's just what the pride is ordered to do if their king and queen aren't present. And in all fairness, you are responsible for me and Kiara not being here."

"Whatever. So why have you come back for us?" Shenzi asked rather spitefully.

"We need your help." Kovu replied.

This surprised the hyenas. A lion needing the help of hyenas? This was new.

"Why should we help you?" Banzai finally answered.

"Because we'll all die if you don't help us. Plus, I might consider letting you back into the Pridelands if you do."

"You'll let us back in? For real?" Shenzi enquired.

"Yes. Along as you abide by the rules you can stay."

"OK. What do you want help with?"

Kovu checked outside. There was no sign of any Muuaji so he decided to move now.

"I'll explain on the way. We're going to Rafiki's tree. Just keep down and stay close to me, for gods sake."

The four of them cautiously exited the cave, remaining low to the ground all the way. Now came the tricky part.

 **Now they have to make it back to Rafiki's tree in one piece. And why is Vitani going back to her den at this time? By the way leave a review if you have anything to say about the story so far and the next chapter will be up as usual.**


	5. Chapter 5

**What? I have nothing to say here. Just read the chapter. It starts off with some more weird stuff, but that should be really considered normal with this series by now.**

Chapter 5

At the edge of the Pridelands there was something very odd. What looked like a giant cloud like object stood high on the border between the Pridelands and the north Outlands. It definitely hadn't been there before, that's for sure. All around it Muuaji were flying in and out, like some kind of regrouping centre for their soldiers. The inside was bright but sinister at the same time. Flashing lights surrounded the interior walls of the mystical looking structure and Muuaji filled most of the space. To put it plainly, it was a base. Anyone who saw inside the cloud base would instantly realise that the attackers presence here was an invasion. One that required the deaths of every living thing in the Pridelands.

In the centre of the base was a Muuaji, larger than the rest. And where the others were just plain light blue in colour, this one was dark green with a red stripe across the top of its 'head'. A smaller, soldier class Muuaji came up to it and spoke in a jittery sounding voice that also had a certain authoritative quality to it.

"Leader. Invasion forces have subdued the entire sector." It informed the larger Muuaji that was clearly in charge.

"Excellent. Are all life forms eradicated?" It asked.

"Almost. There are still small groups of life forms scattered throughout the sector. And there's a bigger group that have gone into hiding."

"These will be the ones who destroyed the Skylands. We should be wary of them. They have cunning minds."

"How will we eliminate them?"

"We shall send in our allies. The ones who led us to this world in the first place."

As the leader said this two lions appeared beneath him. One was dark with a black mane and the other was a dirty golden colour with a single dark stripe on her head.

The leader now addressed the two lions.

"You know what you must do?"

"Yes." The dark lion replied. "We have to kill all the lions who rebel against us."

"Excellent. Begin immediately."

And with that the two lions headed for the edge of the cloud structure. They disappeared through the walls and out into the Pridelands, ready to carry out the bloody orders they had been given.

* * *

Vitani made it safely to the entrance to her den without being spotted by any of the patrolling invaders. Hopefully she was still in there. She wouldn't have gone off on her own, especially not during this attack. If she was still inside then Vitani would take her back to Rafiki's tree where it was safe. But how would they all react to seeing her? Kion in particular. She was meant to be dead. Imagine what effect it would have if she turned up alive now. But the least Vitani could do was get her to safety. After all she'd done for the stranger. Well, not so strange now. Vitani was the only person she'd had contact with in years so it was only right that she helped her now.

Vitani proceeded further into the cave. The den was small but cosy, dark but usually it was lit up by a fire. As Vitani's purple eyes adjusted to the dim light she saw the yellow shape at the back of the den.

"Hey, there you are. Listen, you have to come with me. It's not safe here any more."

"What?" The female's voice replied.

"I'll explain on the way. Just follow me and stay alert."

"It shouldn't be much longer before Kovu gets back." Kion said to Tiifu. "And Vitani too."

"I'm sure she's fine." Tiifu reassured.

Earlier, after Kovu had left to bring back the hyenas, two more lions had found their way to the tree. A male named Kontar and a female called Adia.

Kontar was like Kovu but with a light patch of fur around his left eye. Adia was a lot like Kiara with the addition of a birth mark on her cheek that vaguely resembled a paw print.

They would have to rescue as many lions from the pride as possible if they had any chance of winning this battle.

Rafiki was still examining Kiara one last time as per Kovu's request. Things weren't looking good for the queen but right at the last moment Rafiki felt an increase in heart rate. Kiara was still alive! She seemed to be in some kind of coma but she was still alive. Kovu would be so relieved when he got back. If he got back that is.

 **Finally some good news. But will Kiara be able to get back to reality? And yeah, Scar and Zira have turned up again. It's all starting to kick off isn't it? Well, nearly. Heh heh heh...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Only a short one this time , but it is the first time we see Kiara in this story. Enjoy.**

Chapter 6

Kiara was surprised when she woke up that the world around her hadn't disappeared. She was certain that just before she woke up in reality her mind scape world was disappearing. But here it was, all still standing. She wondered why she had re-awoken in this dream state when not even an hour ago she was awake in the real world.

She stood up where she had left off on the ledge of Pride rock, only to be greeted by Sauti's face once again. Sauti looked confused. But Kiara didn't empathise with her, because she knew that Sauti was just her creation, in her mind.

"I know what you are now." Kiara said, making sure to always allow Sauti direct view of her lips. She was just puzzling Sauti even further.

"What? What do you mean you know what I am now? I'm a lion of course."

"No you're not." Kiara responded, shaking her head. "You're just an amalgamation of different parts of my life. And this whole world is just an image in my head. An image of the real thing."

"I don't understand."

"Nothing here is real, Sauti. You, the world around you, all of it's made up. The only real thing here is me."

By now Sauti was beginning to well up. Kiara still carried on though.

"Guess my will was just powerful enough to create something on such a large scale."

"I'm not real? But, but... I feel real. What's going on?"

Kiara sighed and explained the best she could. Huh. She was explaining something to an imaginary character. What the hell?

"I'm on the verge of dying, Sauti." She began. "My mind has created this world, a replica of my home land for whatever reason. It's full of subtle representations of my life. I bet the reason is to give me a good death. I don't know if I'll live much longer so I'm trying to give myself a good send off."

Kiara could see that Sauti was completely baffled and didn't have a clue what she was talking about. To be honest, Kiara hardly knew what she was talking about either. Most of what she was saying was just repeated from what Rafiki had told her once.

"OK, Look. I need to wake up and get back to reality. I think there's a way I can do that here but I need your help. I'll probably die if you don't. Now will you help me?"

Of course, being a part of Kiara's mind meant Sauti agreed without question.

"Alright. I'll help you. But what do we have to do?"

A good question. One that Kiara didn't know the answer to herself. Then an idea hit her. Rafiki's tree should have some clues in it. Even if this was just in Kiara's head there was bound to be a load of Rafiki's notes and potions and what not still there. Since she didn't have any other ideas as of yet that was where they would both be heading next. Kiara had this nasty thought that something terrible was happening in the real Pridelands, and she had to get back and help at all costs.

 **So Kiara isn't taking this thing lying down, as always. Sorry it was another short one, but I'll make it up to you with the next one, which ends with a little reveal. That's all I'm saying.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Another short one I'm afraid. I know, I know, there'll be some longer chapters later on, don't worry. Enjoy this one, and the reveal at the end.**

Chapter 7

Kovu had worked out that they must be about half way to the tree by now. It seemed like Vitani had done a good job of distracting the Muuaji patrols because they'd been able to get this far without much trouble at all.

"How much further?" Shenzi complained.

"Just keep going. The sooner we get there the sooner we'll be safe." Kovu answered behind him, rather half-heartedly.

The peaceful stroll back to the tree was soon interrupted when, to Kovu's horror, the Muuaji returned in the distance. Vitani had managed to draw them off but not for long enough by the looks of it. There was barely any cover around them save for a few low down rocks here and there.

"What are those?" Banzai exclaimed in awe.

"Trouble." Replied Kovu sternly. "Take cover!"

"Where?" Shenzi asked.

"Anywhere." Kovu said as he leapt and took cover behind the largest rock he could find. The three hyenas were left out in the open, looking for a place to hide. Ed eventually spotted a fallen tree near a particularly large rock. He frantically pointed at it and giggled to tell the others.

"What is it, Ed?" Shenzi sighed.

She then saw for herself what the eccentric fur brain was pointing at. She notified Banzai and the three of them headed over to hide behind the rock and tree trunk. Only moments later two Muuaji's come swooping past, completely missing Kovu and the hyenas. They flew off into the distance and the coast seemed to be clear once again. Kovu, who had been holding his breath the whole time, let out a sigh of relief and emerged from behind his cover. He checked again that the skies around him were clear of any blue bodies of terror. After that he saw the hyenas come out from behind cover also and rejoin him.

"What were those?" Shenzi asked.

"Muuaji. They were the creatures that were attacking the lions in the Skylands. But surely you know that already." Kovu said.

"No. Why should we know?"

"Because you had connections with Scar back when he was working with Mohatu, didn't you?"

Shenzi's face changed to an expression of recognition and she replied.

"Oh, yeah. That. I remember now. We were never involved that much but we know some things."

"How much?"

"Not much. And we're not talking about it until you get us to safety either." Banzai declared.

"Alright. Come on then."

And so Kovu continued to lead the three hyenas to Rafiki's tree where there was, at least some temporary, safety.

As they got further and further away however, there were two sets of evil, beady eyes staring at them the whole time. The eyes were hidden in some bushes and completely out of sight. One set was a dark green and the other was red.

The green pair's owner turned to the owner of the red pair and said:

"Follow them. See where they're hiding out and report back to me when you know."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll go and get Jasiri while she's still under the influence of the herbal mix. That'll give them a bit of a shock."

With that Zira parted ways with Scar and she went to follow Kovu back to the tree, staying a good distance behind him so as to not be detected. Scar on the other hand headed off in the other direction to do what he said he would do. Fetch Jasiri.

 **They're safe. For now at least. And yeah, Jasiri is gonna be in this, but in quite a different way to how we know her. And then there's still the mystery of who the stranger at the beginning was and who Vitani is going to rescue. Well it's the same person, I'll tell you that. But who? Anyway, don't forget to favourite and follow so you can keep up to date on this story and leave a review if you wish, it does make me happy to see them.**


	8. Chapter 8

**So, yeah... Oh go on, just get reading. You know you want to.**

Chapter 8

It was a treacherous journey but they'd finally made it back to Rafiki's tree. Kovu and the hyenas hurried into the tree through the open entrance way and Kion and Zuri sealed it again with the blockade made of leaves and bark. They were safe, for now.

Inside all eyes were on the hyenas, the creatures that had troubled the lions for decades now. Most were unsure about letting these creatures stay here in their safety, let alone help them. But they didn't exactly have much of a choice in the matter. Kovu was the king and his decision was final. He was hoping that the hyenas' previous involvement with Scar when he was in cahoots with the Skylands lions would help give them some idea on how to beat the Muuaji. But it was just a hunch. Still, it was better than nothing right now.

Kovu shoved Shenzi, Banzai and Ed over to Kion and some of the other lions while he went to Rafiki. The crazy old monkey was perched up on his little ledge underneath a large painting area. Kiara's body lay to the right on the ground, still unmoving. Kovu was going to ask if anything had changed with Kiara while he was out.

"Rafiki." Kovu began.

Rafiki shifted his focus from his herbs and potions and applied it to Kovu instead.

"Yes, Kovu?"

"Well, I've brought them back. Perhaps now we'll get some answers. But before that, tell me, has Kiara's state changed at all while I was gone?"

"Well, I have good news, ya majesty. Kiara is alive and breathing."

Kovu's eyes lit up with joy. He was so relieved to hear this.

"Really? She's alive?"

"Yes. But der is a problem. She is in a coma right now, and I'm not sure how to get here out of it."

The light in Kovu's eyes suddenly faded away.

"What? A coma?"

Kovu then lowered his head down next to Kiara. He could hear that she was indeed still breathing and alive. But Rafiki was right. There were no signs of consciousness in her.

"How do we wake her up?" He asked in a half whimpery voice.

"Like I said I don't know. But she's alright for now. I tink we should concentrate on more immediate matters right now."

"Yeah, OK. I'll get the hyenas to talk. Just keep her going for now, please."

Kovu then whispered one last thing into Kiara's ear before going over to the hyenas.

"Kiara. I love you."

Now on to the more pressing matter. Did the hyenas know any useful information about these things? They'd better do.

* * *

Scar arrived at the hidden place in amongst all the trees and foliage of the area. He entered and ventured in until he found what, who, he was looking for. In front of him, in the vegetation, was a flat topped tree trunk with a clay pot on top of it that contained a crushed up herb mix. While next to the trunk, on the ground, lay a grey body, asleep.

The dark lion approached the hyena and propped her head up with his paw behind her head and got a pawful of the herb mix in the other paw. He wafted the mixture in front of her face, close to her nose and mouth.

"Now, my dear Jasiri. You're going to be a good girl and kill your old friends, aren't you?" Scar said with a chuckle.

 **The plot thickens! Well I did say Jasiri was going to be a bit different to what we normally see her as. So how will this turn out? Can the hyenas help the lions and will Scar and Zira find out where the pride is hiding out? Time to once again play the waiting game.**


	9. Chapter 9

**So you're probably wondering what kind of twist I could possible pull out after the last few chapters. Well you'll just have to keep on reading to find out.**

Chapter 9

It was beginning to get dark in the 'fake' Pridelands when Kiara and Sauti arrived outside Rafiki's tree. Kiara had gotten used to the Pridelands being empty now after spending close to a week in them. There were a lot of things Kiara had gotten used to over the last year or so. Her life had never been the same since she lost Simba and Nala. There wasn't a day or night that went past where she didn't long to have them sleeping or walking along beside her again. That kind of life had changed her mentally. Now she was used to depressing things like this. She was quite used to communicating with Sauti the way she did too. In fact, she figured out that it was too good that Sauti was as good as she was at lip reading. That she just put down to it being a creation of her mind. Why make things harder for yourself?

"Kiara. I just want to say that... Even if I am just a figment of your imagination I still care about you. OK?" Sauti said.

Kiara turned to Sauti and replied.

"Yeah. Thanks. Well this is it. Time to take a look inside."

The two entered the tree that was, surprisingly, much larger on the inside than it looked.

Inside there were pots of paints, herbs, medicines and other potions and liquids and stuff that Kiara didn't really understand. Where to start?

"Well this could take some time." Kiara muttered to herself. Sauti didn't see her mouth so only Kiara heard it.

On the far wall were a huge cluster of paintings. That would be a good starting point. Kiara went over to the far wall and began examining the paintings. Some were strange, some not as much, but somewhere in amongst them all there just had to be the answer, hidden some place.

* * *

"Now I'm going to make this clear and simple." Kovu began as he started to question the hyenas. "We need you to tell us anything you know about these things, or anything at all that could help."

Shenzi, Banzai and Ed stayed silent for a few moments. They looked like the were thinking, which was good. Kovu didn't expect anything useful, or indeed sensible, to come from Ed but the other two could tell him something.

Eventually Shenzi answered.

"OK, so Scar and Zira never really let us get involved all that much, but he did mention a few things to us once."

"Like what?"

"He said something about some creatures, which I'm guessing are what those things out there are. He mentioned something about them being... Um... Inter-dimensional... Or something. That's about it really."

"We don't know anything else. Honestly." Banzai chipped in.

This wasn't very helpful at all.

"Shit." Kovu blurted out in disappointment.

So the hyenas didn't know anything about the Muuaji. Well this was just perfect, wasn't it? Now what were they all supposed to do?

Kovu sighed, lowered his head and turned away from Shenzi, Banzai and Ed.

"I'm sorry, Kovu. If we knew more we would tell you." Shenzi said quite sincerely.

"It's alright." Kovu said. Although it clearly wasn't.

Suddenly there came the sound of shouting outside.

"Let us in! Quick!" Came two female voices from outside.

One was definitely Vitani's, but the other was unknown to Kovu. Kion, who was nearest to the entrance way, thought he recognised the second voice. But that was impossible. It couldn't be her? Could it?

Next thing Vitani came bursting in through the entrance way with a yellow creature behind her. Kion watched with wide eyes at who his wife had with her.

"Um... Hello again, Kion." She said, trying not to make this even more awkward than it already was.

Kion was still in a gaze of confusion when he replied.

"Fuli?"

 **HOLY SHIT! I hear you all cry. Well, perhaps not, but still... Kiara's started to look for a way out of her mindscape and now Fuli turns up too. There's just one twist after another here ain't there, as the story synopsis suggests. Anyway, more shocks to come up ahead in the following chapters so favourite and follow the story if you haven't already and leave a review if you can. Chapter 10 will arrive in a couple of days.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright, chapter 10. We're about a third of the way through this thing now. So after the shocking end to the last chapter how will the pride, especially Kion, react?**

Chapter 10

Kion wasn't the only one shocked at Fuli's presence, but he was the most shocked out of all the people there. The girl thought to have been killed along with the rest of the lion guard years ago was now standing right in front of them, breathing and talking in the flesh.

Vitani resealed the entrance way and moved next to Kion, disbelief still lingering in his eyes.

"Kion. She said you'd be surprised. But I couldn't leave her out there to die." She said.

"What is she doing here?" Said Kion.

"I'm here, Kion..." Fuli joined in. "...Because there's a war going on outside. Of course I'm going to come to the safest place."

Kovu came to join Kion and Vitani and said to Kion:

"Do you two want some time alone to talk about this?"

"I think we'd better do." Kion replied.

Kion then wandered off to the very back of the tree.

"Talk with him. Tell him how you're still alive." Vitani said to Fuli.

"OK. I know this is a shock but please, don't focus on me. There's a much more pressing matter happening outside."

Fuli went to follow Kion and the two of them sat at the back of the tree, out of the way of the rest of the survivors.

Kovu sighed and turned to Vitani.

"This is going to make things even more difficult. How is she still alive though? I thought the lion guard was all killed in a rock fall except for Kion a few years back."

"That's what everyone else thought too. But she survived, somehow."

"How long have you known about her then?"

"It's been a couple years actually. I found her at the edge of the Pridelands. She wasn't in a very good state as it was so I helped her back to health and after that she just stayed in that old den that I used to go to. Simple as that really."

Kovu looked across at Kion and Fuli in the corner.

"I see."

* * *

Cold, red eyes belonging to the crazed female watched the lioness (her daughter) and the cheetah (an enemy of hers from years ago) disappear inside the huge tree across the savannah. So that's where they were all hiding. This was perfect. They were all under one roof and sitting targets, ready to be targeted.

"You think you're so smart? It doesn't seem like it."

Zira turned around and wandered in the direction leading back to where Scar was, a wide, evil grin spread across her face.

* * *

Kovu nuzzled Kiara with his head for what seemed like the twentieth time in the last ten minutes.

"Oh, Kiara..."

Meanwhile Kion and Fuli were still at the back of the tree discussing a few things privately.

"But how did you even survive?" Kion said. "I saw what happened. You, Bunga, Beshte and Ono were crushed under all those rocks and boulders in the canyon."

"I guess I was just lucky there. The rocks that fell formed an arch over me, but only me. The others were indeed... Crushed. And killed. I'm sorry."

Kion sighed and bowed his head.

"It's alright."

It clearly wasn't.

"But, on the plus side I did kill the lion who caused that rock fall." Kion continued, his voice perkier now.

"You did?"

"Yeah. His name was Jenvl. A year ago there was an... Incident here and we had to deal with some... Supernatural affairs. Guess how he died."

"How?"

"In a rock fall in a gorge."

"Ha, that's irony for you."

At least now the two of them were a bit more upbeat than they had been earlier.

"So where did you go after you got out of the canyon? Why didn't you come back to Pride rock?" Kion asked.

"Well, I wasn't sure how you would react. I couldn't reach you in time before you left so you thought I died along with the others. No doubt you would have told the rest of the Pridelanders about it as soon as you got back too."

"Yeah, I did. I was miserable for months after that, you know."

"Well, anyway, for some reason I thought that since you'd have told the whole pride, I wouldn't really belong in the Pridelands any more. I don't know why I thought that but at the time I just felt like I was... No longer a part of this place. And after some time I got used to being out there on my own. Then again, I've never had any trouble with being on my own."

"And it's taken you all this time to come back. Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Fuli turned her head to the side and sighed.

"I don't know. I suppose I was just starting to get home sick after all those years alone beyond the Pridelands. I can't say that I'm much happier for returning though. I know I should be but I can't quite see myself being here any more. To tell you the truth I still don't think I belong in the Pridelands any more."

Kion came closer to Fuli and spoke softer.

"Fuli, you were born here, and that means this is your home. You definitely belong here."

"Thanks."

Kion softly rubbed his cheek against Fuli's in a comforting way. She needed it right now.

 **At least things are alright in that regard, aye? But Zira now knows where they're hiding. That can only mean bag news. So don't forget to leave a review and favourite and follow if you haven't already. And here's an idea, why not tell your friends about this series? It's always good to get as many people reading these as possible you know. So yeah, usual scheduling with the next chapter, should be up in a couple of days.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright, here we are. Time to see what our characters are currently up to. And now I'm going to start hinting at something very unusual that will come around in this story, just read the chapter and find out.**

Chapter 11

Kiara studied the various paintings on the wall of Rafiki's tree. Most were meaningless to her, especially since half of them weren't even the real paintings in the real Rafiki's tree. Although there was the odd drawing that was present in both reality and Kiara's dream scape. The painting of the lion guard with her brother in it, the one of Scar being defeated by Simba before he was mauled by the hyenas, and some others.

"I still can't believe I'm not real." Sauti was rambling to herself in the background. It wasn't too off putting but it was somewhat irritating.

"I mean, I have memories of my cubhood for crying out loud. Are those fake? Although I suppose it would explain why I have such trouble remembering most of them. And I feel real. Agh, this makes my head hurt!"

"Shhh." Kiara hissed.

But Sauti didn't' hear, so she just kept on talking.

"I can't believe I'm not real."

Kiara took her focus off the paintings and moved into Sauti's view.

"Could you be quiet for five minutes?" Kiara snorted, though Sauti wouldn't know that.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The cream lioness replied. "I'll keep quiet."

"Thank you."

Kiara then returned to examining the scrawlings on the wall. None of then particularly caught her attention at first, until she spotted one that depicted a tall ledge, very tall indeed, and on top of the ledge was a lioness. There was what looked like an arrow pointing down and at the bottom of the structure there was what appeared to be the exact same lioness, this time contorted on the ground in a horrible manner. And beside that grotesque image were two paws interlocked with each other. Could those two paws represent reuniting?

Then Kiara realised what the painting was trying to tell her. Essentially it was asking what was a common way to wake from a dream. The answer? If you die in the dream you wake up in reality. But would it work this time? Because this was more than a dream.

* * *

Kiara's body flinched and Kovu instantly sprang up and went to her side. Nothing more happened, much to Kovu's disappointment. Why wasn't she waking up? Was she able to wake up? Of course she was. If anyone had a strong will and mind, it was Kiara. Even if it didn't always show on the surface.

As Kovu was starting to slip into a state of deep thought, Maisha came and rubbed against his leg. Then he realised she hadn't been told anything since they all fled Pride rock and came here. It was high time she was informed.

"Daddy, is mum going to be alright?" His daughter asked, her eyes wide and puppyish.

Kovu stole himself and answered.

"Yes, Maisha. Mum's going to be just fine. She's alive, she's just... Sleeping right now. And it's kind of tricky to get her to wake up at the moment."

"Oh, OK."

Maisha nuzzled up to Kiara lovingly until Kovu guided her away and back to where she had been stood just now.

"Why don't you go and keep Mpenzi company for now?" Kovu encouraged.

"Alright. I hope Mum gets better soon."

And with that Maisha trotted on over to where Mpenzi was sat, leaving Kovu alone with his wife once again.

Fuli had now confined herself to the corner of the tree for some alone time, or the closest thing any of them were going to get to alone time while this attack was underway. Vitani was talking with Kion at the other end of the tree near Rafiki.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her sooner." Vitani said, the pair of them glancing over at Fuli in the corner.

"That doesn't matter now. All that matters is that she's alive and safe."

"It's a good thing she still has you at least. And I'm willing to keep on helping her too."

"Huh, even after what happened in the Outlands that time?"

"That wasn't her, that was you that blew me and my pride halfway across the Outlands. Thanks for that by the way." Vitani said sarcastically.

"Um... Yeah... Sorry about that. But she was helping me and the other lion guard members. I thought you would have been a bit... Well, hold a grudge over her and the others after that."

"Kion, I'm married to you. Do you really think I would hate the others?"

"I guess not."

"Ugh, sometimes you just don't use your head, do you?"

* * *

"Ah, there you are my dear." Scar said when he saw Zira coming towards him.

He was travelling with Jasiri when the two of them came across her.

"Scar, I have some good news."

Zira looked across at Jasiri. The hyena's face was blank and expressionless. The effect of the herbal mixture Scar had made her inhale.

"Is she completely subdued?" She asked.

"Yes. She'll do whatever we want her to do. Watch."

Scar spoke to Jasiri in a manner worthy of a commanding general.

"Look to the left."

Jasiri looked to her left.

"And to the right."

She also looked to the right.

"Now back to the centre."

She obeyed once again.

"Perfect." Zira marvelled. "I know where the survivors are hiding out. They're in the tree belonging to that demented monkey. Now we can formulate a plan to flush them out and kill them."

"Excellent. And once they've been dealt with we can turn our offence towards the Muuaji. Those idiots think we're working for them, but they'll soon realise they've made a fatal mistake, arming us with these new powers to better improve our killing ability."

Scar then flexed his front right paw and scrapped his claws against one another. A small pinch of ash fell from his paw and onto the ground, freshly formed... From his paw...

"They'll never see it coming."

 **See what coming? Hmm... Have fun coming up with ideas as to what this could lead to. Also the chapters should get longer now for the majority of them, you're welcome. Also brace yourselves for a bit of a shock coming up in chapter 14. Next chapter up soon.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, it's me again. I'm back with another chapter for y'all. There'll be some confrontation in this one between two familiar faces. Enjoy.**

Chapter 12

All around the tree there were mutterings and whispers about what the group was going to do next.

"There's no way we can take on those things." Kontar exclaimed to Adia.

"I agree with that." Adia replied.

Tiifu and Zuri spoke with Kovu also.

"Kovu, since the hyenas don't have anything helpful to tell us, do you have a plan?" Zuri asked.

"No, I don't. And I don't think I will either." Kovu responded, glumly.

"Then can we propose an idea?" Tiifu requested.

"Sure. Go ahead."

Kovu listened carefully to the lionesses suggestion.

"Well, why don't we find where these... Muuaji, was it? Are operating from. At least then we'd know what to attack if we have to." Tiifu explained.

"Yes, well that's all very well but what would really help is if we knew what they wanted. Why are they killing everyone? Why are they invading?" Kovu said.

Suddenly the voice of Shenzi blurted out of nowhere:

"They're invading, you idiot, because you destroyed their home world. The Skylands."

Kovu turned to the hyenas sat down in the corner. He approached them sternly.

"And how do you know that? You said you didn't know anything about the Muuaji." He said, gritting his teeth slightly.

"You shouldn't believe everything you're told. I thought you were smarter than that, Kovu. Then again you are the son of Scar. And an adopted son at that."

Kovu suddenly jolted and leapt at Shenzi, knocking and pinning her to the ground, bearing his teeth fiercely.

"Shut your trap, Shenzi. Unless you want me to rip it off. Don't you dare say anything about that. Am I clear?"

"Oh, oh yes, sure sure. Um... Could you please... Um... move off of me?" Shenzi pleaded, realising her taunting was a huge mistake.

Kovu moved off the hyena's body, allowing her to stand up. He took a step back, still angry at her outburst.

"So you do know something. Tell me now. If you know what's good for you."

"Alright, alright, I'll tell ya. Jeez, keep your mane on. Well, the Muuaji were attacking the lions in the Skylands because they wanted to take the place for themselves, right? For whatever reason their original home world was destroyed. But then you came along with Kiara and Leela and you destroyed the Skylands, the place they were trying to colonize. So now they're trying to take the Pridelands for themselves, and that means killing every living thing here first. Do you get it now?"

"I see. It all makes sense now. But they still can't have the Pridelands, not while I'm alive they won't."

"I'm sure that can be rectified, my son." Came a sinister female voice from the entrance to the tree.

Kovu and all the other lions in the tree turned to see another lioness stood in the entrance way, the barricade removed. Zira! And beside her was a hyena with a blank, expressionless face. Kovu didn't recognise it but Kion did.

"Jasiri!" He called out.

Fuli jumped up and stood by Kion.

"What? Jasiri? What's she doing here?"

Kovu just stared in horror. His twice deceased mother was once again standing right in front of him. Not again!

"Zira. How are you still alive? You died twice already."

"That's an interesting question, Kovu. It's a shame none of you will live to hear the answer."

"Jasiri! What are you doing?" Kion shouted.

Jasiri just stared into nothing, unresponsive.

"Jasiri!" Fuli repeated for Kion.

This time Jasiri did answer. Her voice was emotionless and cold.

"I serve the Muuaji. I must kill you."

"Wait-" Kion called but he was interrupted by Zira pouncing at Kovu.

Luckily though she didn't get very far, as Rafiki had snuck up on her from behind and he gave her one big whack with his stick and she was out cold. But that still left Jasiri.

Kovu readied himself for a fight with the hyena. But to his surprise she just fled. Jasiri was gone out of the tree as soon as Zira was knocked out.

Vitani went to check Kovu as he set himself down on the ground after the attack. He didn't seem to have sustained any injuries from Zira though.

"Are you alright?" Vitani asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. That could have been a lot worse though."

And there was almost definitely going to be a much worse attack later on.

 **Good thing Rafiki was there to wack Zira round the head, aye? And now the Pridelanders have a hostage, but Jasiri escaped, and as the last sentence says there most definitely will be a worse attack later on. Till the next one, see ya then.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Just a little insight into what the bad guys are up to now since we haven't seen them for a little while. Enjoy.**

Chapter 13

Scar had gone back to the cloud like fortress that was the Muuji's base to tell his 'masters' about the location of the survivor group. He walked into the wall of the structure and vanished into it, emerging again on the inside. He looked around for the leader and he spotted him at the top of the tall tower. There were many different shapes far above that lined the inside walls of the base. They all had a Muuaji unit in front of them and some kind of light was being emitted from them. Scar didn't know what it was though, he was just interested in getting his own goals fulfilled. A regular Muuaji came down to address the dark lion.

"I wish to speak with the commander."

The Muuaji then flew off to get the commander from at the top of the tower. A few moments passed and the green and red creature came swooping down to Scar's level. It set itself down on the ground, resting on its four leg like appendages, like a four legged spider.

"What do you want?" It boomed.

"I have discovered where the opposition is hiding. They are all holding out in a large tree at the other side of the Pridelands."

"Good work. You will mount an attack on the place immediately."

"There's no need. I've already sent Zira to kill them off. With the powers you granted us it should be over pretty fast."

"One lion alone may not be enough to take out an entire resistance group. However, we have seen how efficiently you two are able to perform. We will wait until the morning to investigate. If Zira does not return by then we will conduct an attack on the tree. Now rest before tomorrow."

The commander then turned and flew upwards, back to its original position. Scar didn't really want to have to wait until morning to see the twisted, bleeding corpses of all those lions, but then again, the suspense would make it an even greater thrill when he finally did.

Scar was about to turn and leave but before he did he had one more look at the glowing orb of light in the centre of the tower on the ground. The source of all the Muuaji's power, according to them. They had called it a 'matter drive', whatever that meant. All Scar knew is that they never let anything get near it. It was the one thing they seemed to protect more than anything. It must have been valuable... Or dangerous.

Anyway, it didn't matter to Scar now so he resumed his exit, unnoticed by the creatures going about their business above his head.

Scar emerged on the outside of the structure and it was now dark in the Pridelands. The tower glowed a bright blue behind him. It must have been visible for miles around.

All of a sudden Scar saw a shape coming towards him. It was difficult to make it out in the darkness, plus the fact that it looked like something dark anyway. But as it got closer to him he could make out that it was a hyena. It was Jasiri! Without Zira.

She came to a halt in front of Scar and still kept that expressionless face.

"What are you doing here? Where's Zira?" Scar demanded.

"Zira has been knocked unconscious and captured. I retreated to increase survivability rates." Jasiri's voice remained emotionless throughout her explanation.

"You fool! You're not supposed to worry about yourself! Come on, we have to go and get Zira. And while we're there we're going to finish off every last one of those retched resisters."

Scar, still somewhat infuriated by Jasiri's decisions, lead the hyena off into the darkness of the night to finish the job she and Zira had failed to complete.

 **So now Scar's going on the offensive. Wonder how this will turn out. And sorry for it being another short one (even though I said a few chapters back that they would start getting longer), that's just how they are at the moment but I promise that there will be some longer ones further down the line. Chapter 14 for example will be in the 1000 word range (probably between 1200 and 1400 actually), so you can look forward to that in a few days. Also don't forget to favourite and follow this story if you haven't already and please leave a review if you have something to say about it, reviews always help. See ya next time.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Moving on to quite a big chapter now. A longer one like I promised as well. And there's a bit of a shock at the end of this one though I won't anything more. And sorry for the large amount of page breaks in this one, it's just that there's a lot of switching between scenes. Well, enjoy.**

Chapter 14

Everyone in Rafiki's tree had now fallen asleep after what seemed like the longest day of their lives. Everyone, that is, except for Fuli. She couldn't sleep. She was still thinking about the doubts she had about herself. Whether she actually belonged here any more or whether she should have died all those years ago. It was kind of her own fault really. By staying away from the Pridelands for so long she had made it impossible to deny for everyone else that she was dead. And then she returned, baffling everyone. Well, everyone who cared that is. There were those who didn't even know her and frankly couldn't care less. And that was the problem. She just didn't feel wanted around here any more.

She had hoped that returning would make her feel at ease, but it didn't. Earlier on that day she thought that seeing Kion again might cheer her up, but that didn't work. And this invasion gong on wasn't making things any better either. Nothing was good. Everything was looking gloomy and hopeless right now.

 _I can't do this any more._

And it was at that moment that Fuli decided.

* * *

Kiara was venturing over the savannah near dusk from Rafiki's tree to Pride rock. She hadn't yet told Sauti what she planned to do, and she didn't want to. Even if Sauti was just a character in Kiara's head, it still felt wrong to tell her that she planned to... Well, it was just horrible to think about. Sauti followed on behind, constantly asking 'Where are you going?' and 'What are you doing?'.

And each time she did Kiara just turned around and gave her a look. But she clearly wasn't understanding because she kept asking. Was this what Kiara was like when she was younger? She never knew just how annoying she was.

Finally Kiara couldn't take it any more and she stopped and turned to face the nagging Sauti, making certain her mouth was in view.

"Please stop asking. You'll see when we get there. I really don't want to talk about it."

Sauti seemed to pipe down after that. She replied with:

"OK. I'm sorry. I understand if it's a sensitive subject."

"Thanks." Kiara said before continuing her trek through the dry grass and dirt with her companion behind her.

* * *

Fuli exited the tree, taking one last look back at the people inside. She bowed her head and sighed.

"Goodbye."

The yellow cheetah then proceeded to vanish into the night. She knew where she was going, and that she wouldn't be coming back from that place. She sped up, running full speed through the long grass. Luckily there weren't any Muuaji out on patrol that night. Perhaps there was a reason for that, but Fuli didn't care about that any more. All she cared about was ending this.

* * *

Kiara and Sauti reached the base of Pride rock just as the sun set down behind the horizon. Kiara looked up at the highest point of the structure, the very top where you could see all around the Pridelands if you were stand up there. She then looked around at the bottom of the rock. All around was nothing but cold, hard ground. Perfect. This had better work, or... Well, who knows what would happen.

While Kiara was sat gazing up at her home, Sauti came up beside her and attempted to get an answer from her once again.

"So, care to tell me what you're going to do?"

Kiara faced her, some sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. But it's not something pleasant. If there was another way out I would take it, believe me. But this is where we say farewell."

Kiara then headed off up to the upper floor of Pride rock, leaving Sauti to wonder what on Earth she was talking about.

"What do you mean? Kiara?" She called.

Sauti followed after Kiara up the stairway of rocks and boulders. What the hell was Kiara doing? When Sauti reached the ledge at the opening of the cave she saw that Kiara hadn't stopped there. She was still climbing up round the side of Pride rock, even higher, up to the tallest point of the monument like structure.

"Kiara!"

* * *

In the middle of an open grazing area a dark lion and a mindless hyena were travelling across the valley towards a certain large tree, evil in the heart of one that was now controlling the other. Their gentle but quick stroll was suddenly interrupted by a speeding object passing by, nearly knocking Scar off his feet. The object had looked to be yellow and was going so fast that it was just a blur.

"Hang on. That's..." Scar muttered.

Something then clicked on in Scar's head. An idea hit him.

"Come on, my dear Jasiri. We're going to go and say hello to that girl."

The speeder looked like it was heading for Pride rock, so that's where Scar and his slave began to head to as well.

Kovu sighed. He had woken up about five minutes ago after having a worrying dream about him and what was left of the pride being hopelessly cornered by the Muuaji. He had woken up just before the ending, although it wasn't exactly a hard guess as to what would have happened next. He wasn't going to recover his sleep from that for a while, that was for sure. Kovu laid his head down on his crossed paws and closed his eyes in a feeble attempt to return to sleep. He had a perfect view of Kiara from here, which was both a comfort and a painful reminder of her present condition.

Hopefully the morning would bring some kind of hope, but it probably wouldn't, knowing Kovu's recent luck.

* * *

Fuli arrived at her final destination. Pride rock. She looked up at the tall castle of the lions. She spotted her goal, the highest point in the Pridelands, the top of Pride rock.

"Well this is it." She sighed as she began her assent of the natural skyscraper.

* * *

Kiara and Sauti were now both stood atop Pride rock with a view of all the surrounding land. A magnificent sight. It was just a shame that there was no time to savour it.

Kiara walked up to the very edge and stared down over. The drop was incredibly sheer. Frightening in fact. Unsurvivable even. Just what Kiara needed. She backed up next to Sauti, who had now realised what Kiara intended to do and because of that her eyes were beginning to water.

"Kiara, please don't. There has to be another way."

Unfortunately there wasn't. And she knew it. That was the cold hard truth. But if all went to plan she would wake up again in reality. If all went to plan that is. Huh, and how likely was that to happen?

"It's OK. You'll be fine. And so will I." Kiara mouthed to Sauti.

This was it. The final action of this whole, crazy thing.

"Goodbye Sauti. I've loved every second of our friendship."

"Goodbye, Kiara." Sauti whimpered.

Kiara then lined herself up and got into a pushing off position. And then... She ran. And jumped.

 _THUD!_

Then... Nothing.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Gasp...

* * *

Fuli readied herself in a running stance and took a deep breath. This was it. This is where she ended her suffering forever. No more unbelonging.

"I'm sorry..."

And then she jumped.

 **OMG! Heavy stuff, huh? Now the question is will Kiara finally be returned to the real world. And what will happen to Fuli? As always, you'll have to wait to find out the answers. But in the mean time feel free to leave a review on this. Pleeeeeease [Simba and Nala cubs smile cutely]. The next chapter will be up as usual in a couple of days.**


	15. Chapter 15

**So after that rather intense chapter, I feel it's time we had a calmer one. And there's some good news in this one too. Enjoy.**

Chapter 15

The tree was silent and peaceful. For the first time since this whole fiasco began. Kovu was startled by the sound of someone gasping. He opened his eyes and scanned around the cave, trying to see in the darkness. Then he saw that it was Kiara who had made the noise. Kovu suddenly got to his feet and felt joy spread through him. Kiara was awake at last! She was just sitting up when he came over and sat by her. She was uneasy, off-balance. Kovu put his head under Kiara's chest to support her. She breathed heavily, somehow not waking up any other sleepers in the tree.

"Kiara?" He said.

"I... I'm awake? I... I'm back. I made it!" Kiara cheered.

She quickly nuzzled up to Kovu when she realised he was there beside her. She was sobbing but in a kind of happy way. Relief perhaps?

"Oh, Kovu, it was horrible. There was no one. Except for one lioness but she turned out to be... It was just a nightmare."

Kovu comforted his mate as she buried her face deep in his fur. Patting her on the back with his paw.

"There, there, Kiara. It's alright. You're back now. I'm here. Although I can't say that we're safe yet."

Kiara looked up from her sob and into Kovu's eyes.

"Wha... What do you mean?" She whimpered.

"I'll explain everything in the morning. Just get some rest for now, OK."

Kiara sniffed and said "OK."

Kovu lay back down and got himself comfortable while Kiara positioned herself down next to him. The first time they'd been laid next to each other in what seemed like ages. They were finally together again.

"I love you, Kovu. Goodnight." Kiara whispered.

"I love you too. Night."

Things were finally looking up, at last.

* * *

Fuli was falling. Falling, falling, falling. She was nearly at the bottom. All of a sudden the strain of the fall became too much for her and she passed out. At least it would be painless now. But then, right at the final second, a dark brown blur came racing underneath the falling cheetah and Fuli landed right on top of it. She was unharmed. The dark speeding blur that was travelling at an impossible velocity slowed down and came to a complete halt by Jasiri again. Scar let Fuli's body slide off his back and onto the ground, flexing his legs after the super sprint.

"Now then. Now we have leverage against those retched resistance lions. No doubt they'll want her back, in exchange for Zira."

"When shall we go to make this ultimatum?" Jasiri asked blankly.

"I think first thing tomorrow morning will be just fine."

And if they didn't agree to hand over Zira in exchange for Fuli, then Scar would just have to use his newly given powers against them. And if he did, there would almost certainly be nobody left alive in that tree.

 **Things are kind of looking at least. But what will happen next? Next chapter up soon.**


	16. Chapter 16

**So, quick recap. The Muuaji are invading the Pridelands, Scar and Zira are back and have Jasiri hypnotised to obey them, Zira has been captured by the pride hiding out in Rafiki's tree and Fuli has now been captured by Scar and Jasiri. Now we're all up to speed lets get back to the chapter. Enjoy.**

Chapter 16

The morning had come at last. Light seeped in through the top of the tree and shone down onto the people at the bottom. As Kovu expected it wasn't long before everyone was asking about Kiara when they found out she was awake. It was probably best that they left her alone for a bit longer so Kovu tried to ward everyone away for the time being.

"Kiara needs some time to herself. She's been through an ordeal and a half so give her some space, OK."

The crowd soon dispersed and Kiara and Kovu were left in the corner. They had been the first to wake up that morning and Kovu had spent a good half an hour explaining everything to her. About what happened when they escaped the Skylands, about the Muuaji invasion, about the hyenas joining them and Zira making an appearance along with Fuli turning up out of nowhere.

"And all this has happened in just one day?" Kiara asked.

"Yeah. We've been very busy while you were napping." Kovu replied.

"I think it was far more than napping. In fact I want to see Rafiki later to talk about it."

"Kiara, what exactly happened to you?" Kovu asked, concern in his eyes.

"Well, It's very hard to explain. I jumped into that pit back in the Skylands after I destroyed that super weapon thing. But there was an immense heat wave right behind me. I guess I must have blacked out and when I woke up I was at Pride rock, all alone."

"Strange. You say it was like dreaming, but more than dreaming?"

"That's the only way I can think to describe it. Anyway, I left the 'dream' Pridelands after a couple of days and then I met a deaf lioness named Sauti. We were heading across the desert together when I realised something. That's when I made us rush back to the Pridelands and I figured out what was going on. Sort of."

Kovu couldn't get his head around what Kiara was telling him. But whatever had happened, it was over now and they needed to concentrate on the new threat.

"Mum! Mum!" That could only be Maisha.

The young (nearly adult) lioness came bounding up to her mother. She hugged her tightly, over joyous to see that she was finally awake.

"I've missed you." She said.

"I've missed you too. Could you give me some time alone with your father though? There's a few things we need to go over." Kiara requested.

"Of course. I'll talk with you later, mum."

Maisha then went off and, to no ones surprise, sat back with Mpenzi.

"It's only a matter of time before those two will be wanting us to babysit for them." Kovu joked.

Kiara glanced over Kovu's shoulder at the three hyenas sat opposite them. She wasn't happy about them being here, even if they were supposedly helping them now.

"Remind me why you had to bring Shenzi and the other two here again?" She enquired.

Kovu looked over at the grey scavengers and then back at his wife.

"I thought that, since they'd worked with Scar in the past, they might have some idea about these things. Turns out they have no clue whatsoever."

"And why are they still here?"

"They've agreed to obey the rules if we let them stay in the Pridelands. Them and their clan. That's assuming they're still alive by the end of this. Or us for that matter."

"And you're trusting them on this? Kovu, you know what hyenas are like."

"Yes, I do. Dare I say more than you. I ran into quite a few of them when I was living in the Outlands. And I know them a lot more than you do. Trust me."

"OK. Just, please, keep an eye on them a little while longer."

"I am."

The two lion's conversation was interrupted when Vitani came over and parked herself next to Kovu.

"Hey, how are you doing?" She asked Kiara.

"Alright I guess. Though I could be better."

"I think we all could be better."

"Hey Vitani. How's Kion doing on psycho watch?" Kovu asked.

Kovu and Vitani looked over at Kion, who was standing over the unconscious body of Zira. She hadn't woken up since she was knocked out by Rafiki yesterday.

"I think by this point he's completely sick of guarding people. But this one's been pretty easy for him. Zira hasn't woken up yet."

"Well it looks like she's beginning to stir now." Kiara said, observing the lioness carefully.

Zira was one of the few people that she absolutely hated. Not surprising after she tried to kill her and her family. But that hadn't stopped Kiara from trying to save her when she did. Hanging over the flowing river, holding her paw out for Zira to grab hold of. She refused and plummeted to her death. Death, that word has no meaning any more. Not after the events that had happened over the last twelve months.

Kovu and Vitani looked carefully at Zira on the ground. She was indeed beginning to stir. Kion noticed and straightened his posture, just in case she tried anything. Kovu, Vitani and Kiara came to join him as the twice thought dead lioness sat up, wiping sleep from her eyes. She looked at Kion with a cold look on her face. One of hate probably.

"Oh look, if it isn't the kid who blew me halfway across the Outlands. That wasn't very nice of you was it?"

"I'm not a kid any more, Zira, and that's in the past. You deserved it anyway."

"Enough." Kovu asserted. "Now, mother. We want to ask you some questions."

Kion looked around and got his first proper view of the tree since last night. It was dark up until a few minutes ago and only now he realised something.

"Um... Guys. Where's Fuli?"

* * *

Scar and Jasiri were checking up on Fuli. The yellow cheetah was still asleep after last night as she laid down in the den. It wasn't long though before she started to wake from her slumber.

Scar chuckled over her, his green eyes lighting up with evil.

"Now it's time for the real fun."

 **What's Scar planning? Can't be anything good, that's for sure. The next chapter is going to be a loooong one cause I know that's what you guys like, right? And there's going to be something very** **bizarre that occurs in it as well, maybe supernatural kind of. That'll be uploaded in a few days. But until then, favourite and follow if you haven't done already and please leave a review because I always enjoy reading what people think of these.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry for the slightly longer wait. I was supposed to upload this chapter a day earlier but never got round to it, but it's here now. This is one of the longest chapters in the whole story and definitely one of the strangest because, well... Just read it and find out.**

Chapter 17

Kovu's paw came smashing into Zira's face once again. He was beginning to lose his patience with her.

"I won't ask you again! Where is the Muuaji's main base?" He yelled.

"Kovu, I'm your mother. You shouldn't be abusing me." Zira said in a slightly mocking tone.

"You're not my mother." Kovu snapped back. "My mother died five years ago. Now answer the question!"

Kiara stood next to Kovu with a front seat view of the whole interrogation. She could see that he wasn't getting anywhere with these methods.

"Kovu, It's not working. She's not going to tell us." She said.

But Kovu wasn't giving in that easily. He once again swiped at Zira and hit her square on the nose. The old lioness lowered her head in pain and breathed heavily.

"Alright, alright." She pleaded. "They have a base right at the northern most point of the Pridelands. But it's a fortress. There's no way you could even get near it without being blasted out of existence."

Kovu turned away and declared "We'll see about that."

"So what do we do?" Kiara asked.

"I don't know. I mean we could attack this base of theirs but we'd most likely get slaughtered in the process. And on top of that they now have Fuli as a hostage."

"Oh, you're not going to believe that are you? Zira just said that to put pressure on you. Fuli's probably found somewhere to hide. Although why she went out in the middle of the night is beyond me."

"OK, you're right. To be honest I'm trying to concentrate on the real problem."

Kovu looked around at the rest of the lions (and other animals) in the tree.

"I'm just worried about how we're going to get all these people through this alive." He said, lowering his voice.

"We will. You'll see." Kiara encouraged him, smiling.

Meanwhile Vitani had taken the opportunity to question Zira while Kiara and Kovu were busy talking. She knew that this was still her mother, but she also knew that her mother was indeed a murderous lunatic.

"Tell me, Mum. Why have you and Scar sided with the Muuaji?" She questioned.

Zira looked at her daughter, her eyes suggesting something along the lines of 'seriously? You really think that's what's going on here?'

"Oh, my dear Vitani. We're not siding with those idiots. Those patriotic, self obsessed home seekers? No, we're not helping them. We're just keeping them fooled long enough so we can enact our true plan."

"What?" Kovu must have overheard them. He turned and marched back to Zira, staring her in the face.

"So the real enemies here are you and Scar. I knew it all along. But I'm warning you now, Mother, that I won't let either of you win, whatever you're planning."

Before Zira could say anything more Zazu came flying in through a gap in the ceiling among the leaves at the top of the tree. He perched himself down on the ground in front of Kovu, wary of Zira right next to him.

"Sire! Your Majesty! I have some urgent news!" He squawked.

"What is it?" Kovu demanded.

"It's Scar! He and another hyena are on their way here. And they have Fuli with them, clearly as a prisoner from what I saw."

Zira began to chuckle and all attention was shifted to her.

"Oh, this is going just as planned. I believe this is a hostage exchange situation. Prepare to meet with a terrible fate."

"What?" Kiara went.

Kovu knew immediately what to do. There had to be some time before the Muuaji began their patrols again, so they would need to make the most of this time.

"Rafiki!" Kovu called.

The Mandrill came over straight away.

"Yes?"

"Rafiki. I need you to help get everyone out of here as quick as you can. Take them to Pride rock before the Muuaji swarm all over the place again."

"OK. I know a secret route from here to Pride rock. We will leave immediately."

Rafiki then went and rounded everyone up around the tree. Kovu gave instructions as he did.

"OK, everyone! Follow Rafiki. You're all moving to Pride rock. Move fast and you won't get caught by you know what."

Zira remained in a state of sinisterness and observed the departure of the group. Rafiki lead everyone off and out of the tree via a back exit, leaving only Kiara, Kovu, Vitani, Kion and Zira in the tree. They were all alone. But not for long.

"Well isn't this one nice big reunion? Shame the others aren't here to celebrate with us." Came the voice of the tyrant of the Pridelands. The five remaining lions shot their looks in the direction it came from. There, in the main entrance way of the tree, stood Scar, with a hypnotised Jasiri by his side. And a visibly scared Fuli between them.

"This is the complete opposite of nice and you know it." Kiara snapped.

"Tut tut tut, Kiara. Is that how Simba taught you to speak to people? I don't think he did." Scar taunted her.

"Don't you DARE even mention him!" She roared in anger.

Scar ignored Kiara and turned his glare to Kion.

"And I believe this is yours." He said, pushing Fuli beside him.

"Kion!" She called.

"Fuli! Let her go!" Shouted Kion. "And whatever you've done to Jasiri, you can undo it and hand her over too."

"I will. If you give me Zira in return."

"No! Not until you agree to take down the Muuaji first." Kovu demanded. "I know you're capable of that. So do it."

Scar began to wander forwards, glancing somewhere between the ground and the lions in front.

"Oh dear. Then it seems we're at an impasse. You see, Zira and I still need the Muuaji alive a bit longer. But you lot are disposable. So I won't ask you again, hand her over."

"No!" Kovu asserted.

"Then you've left us no choice."

Scar then resumed his wander closer to them.

"Guys, get back." Kovu ordered.

Kion, Vitani and Kiara backed up near the rear exit of the tree. Now both Scar and Zira were advancing on Kovu. He was confident he could take them both on, as long as he paid close attention to their moves.

"Kovu, are you sure about this?" Kiara called.

Kovu replied without looking round.

"Don't worry. I've got this."

Kovu prepared himself for the impending fight as the two lions kept coming towards him. He was sure he could win this... Until the strangest thing happened.

As they came ever closer to Kovu, Scar and Zira's fur began to... Singe, and fire started to spread across their bodies. But they didn't seem to be affected by it. They just kept on marching towards their target.

"What the fuck?" Kovu said, totally bemused.

What the hell had happened to them? Scar was further in front than Zira and it was him that struck first. He threw his paw into the air and a red liquid came flying out of his wrist. It splattered on the floor and onto Kovu's fur too, and then all of a sudden, a line of fire sprang up from the trail of what was definitely blood.

Kovu leapt to the side just in time to avoid being completely caught up in the flames, but he didn't get away without sustaining some burns on his back.

"Kovu!" Kiara called.

Kovu got to his feet again and relocated his attackers, now just two walking balls of fire. Fuli tried to get close to help but she was stopped by Jasiri jumping in front of her.

"You are not to interfere." The hyena said coldly.

Zira now closed in for another attack on Kovu. She was at least ten feet away from him but that gap was soon closed. She took less than a second to get across the tree and ram into Kovu, in fact she was just a blur, going at an impossible speed.

Kovu fell to the ground and felt an immense heat make contact with his skin. He yelped in pain as what was once Zira stood over him, silently staring and mocking him with her eyes. Her eyes being the only visibly lion thing left of her.

It looked like this was it for Kovu. No one could have expected Scar and Zira to become these... Monstrosities during the fight.

"No! Kovu!" Kiara pleaded from within the background.

Then, a big orange glow began emanating from the side of the tree. While everyone was focussed on the fight, they had all failed to notice that the tree had caught fire from Scar's attack. And to add to that, outside came the deafening noise of what could only be the Muuaji.

"Destroy the structure!" Came the booming voice of the commander.

"Shit!" Kion cursed.

Kiara bolted over to Kovu on the ground while Scar and Zira were distracted by the arrival of their 'masters'. She dragged him out of the way and helped him to his feet, revealing the burn marks going all down his side.

"Come on." She prompted.

Fuli also managed to zip past and join the lions just at the last moment.

"Lets get out of here." Kiara announced as she, Kovu, Kion, Vitani and Fuli all escaped through the rear exit while Scar, Zira and Jasiri remained in the tree.

"It looks like there's been a change of plan, my dear." Scar said. "We may have to take down the Muuaji before we can deal with those rogues."

* * *

Thankfully the group of five was able to sneak past the three Muuaji hovering above Rafiki's tree. They left just in time to see a huge blast of light come from the biggest of the blue creatures and strike the tree. There was a tremendous explosion and when the smoke cleared all that remained of the tree was ash and rubble.

Now was their chance to get to Pride rock without being noticed. Hopefully Scar and Zira had been killed in that blast too. But they all knew that that wasn't likely.

 **Bizarre powers alert! Repeat, bizarre powers alert! How weird was that, aye? And that's not the only instance of something like this either. Anyway, Rafiki won't be happy about having his tree blown up and we're yet to see what happened to Scar, Zira and Jasiri after that. Please review this chapter if you can think of anything to say about it, there has to be something at least, and I'll be back in a few days with the next one. See ya then.**


	18. Chapter 18

**OK, so... I almost forgot it was time to upload again. I'm so tired right now. Anyway, miseries aside, here's the next chapter for ya'll! And there could be some tides turning at the end of this one. Enjoy.**

Chapter 18

The tree was gone. Singed to a pile of ash and a few remaining pieces of burning rubble. The Muuaji had already left by the time a single body began to dig its way out of the wreck. Now back in his original form, Scar picked his way through the chard woods all around him until he stumbled across a very familiar looking female lionesses, also back in her original form. Zira! She wasn't moving underneath the pile of rubble that lay on top of her.

"Zira. No..."

Scar put his head down to her chest to check if she was breathing.

She wasn't. She was dead. Scar moved his head back up and saw Jasiri running towards him. She appeared to have made it through the destruction of Rafiki's tree without so much as a scratch. She stood in front of the dark lion like an obedient soldier.

Scar looked at her but didn't say anything. He was much more focussed on Zira's body at his feet. Before he had just been out to take control of everything. Him and Zira had such plans for when they became the rulers of the world. But now his heart was full of revenge.

"What are we going to do now?" Jasiri asked.

Scar looked up and replied.

"We're going to finish this. Once and for all. Starting with the Muuaji. Then we'll move onto the rest of the world."

He then turned away and muttered to himself in an angry tone:

"I won't forget about _this,_ Kovu."

* * *

"Get down quick!" Kion called to the others in front of him.

They all took cover in the cave of Pride rock when they reached there, just before a squad of Muuaji flew past and almost spotted them, but thankfully they didn't.

Now Pride rock would be their new base for the time being. As long as they weren't discovered to be hiding there they were safe. But for how long?

It looked like the entire group was able to make it to the cave as they were all inside. Kovu was now walking without any help as he and Kiara entered first, followed by Fuli and Vitani with Kion bringing up the rear. The hyenas were in the corner once again, not being stared at with malice but they weren't exactly getting hugs and kisses either.

"Mum! Dad!"

Maisha came rushing up to her parents practically as soon as they set foot in the cave.

"Are you alright?" She asked, sounding quite desperate for an answer.

"We're fine, dear." Kiara answered.

"Just a few bruises and bumps." Kovu added. "That's all."

Tiifu and Zuri joined them at the cave entrance, panic on their faces.

"What happened? We heard an explosion earlier." Tiifu said.

"Yeah, that was Rafiki's tree going up in smoke and flames. He isn't going to be happy about that." Kovu said.

"Did everyone get here OK?" Kiara asked.

"Yeah. We were nearly spotted at one point but we managed to sneak past just fine." Zuri explained.

"What are we going to do now then?" Vitani joined in the conversation.

"Well we found out where the Muuaji's base is, remember? So at least we know that." Kovu reminded them.

Kiara added "But there's no way we can storm the place and expect to live. So that information's damn near useless."

"Don't forget though that Scar and Zira said they were planning to betray the Muuaji when they thought the time was right. Lets just hope that by betray they mean destroy." Kovu said. "But for now me and Kiara are going to go over things with Rafiki. If anyone comes up with a decent plan then let us know as soon as we're done."

Kovu and Kiara then left the group alone and went to the other side of the cave to talk with Rafiki, who was bandaging up Adia. She probably got injured on the way over here but it didn't matter how exactly.

Tiifu and Zuri departed which left just Kion, Vitani and Fuli still by the entrance. Kion turned to Fuli and asked:

"So where did you go last night to end up getting captured?"

Fuli wasn't sure quite how to answer that. The real reason was because she'd had enough of everything. But she wasn't about to tell Kion that.

"I..." She stuttered. "I came here actually."

"To Pride rock? Why?" Vitani asked, joining in the discussion.

"Well... I... Just have some rather fond memories of this place. That's all."

"Right..." Kion said slowly in a way that suggested he didn't fully believe Fuli.

* * *

The cloud structure was bustling with activity as per usual as Scar and Jasiri entered carrying the dead body of Zira. They dropped it down on the ground just before the commander swooped down to address them.

"What has occurred?" It asked.

"What has occurred?" Scar mimicked. "You and your little kill squad not only managed to miss all of the people you were supposed to kill, but you also blew up that tree while Zira and I were still inside."

The commander moved what was presumably his head down to look at Zira on the floor, unmoving. Scar continued his rant.

"And as a result of that she's now dead. Talk about a major cock up."

"She was an unimportant asset. Work will continue as normal. You will return to your post."

And the heartless creature ascended back up to his designated position near the top of the cloud tower.

"Is that all you have to say?" Scar muttered under his breath.

And he thought _he_ was heartless. Well there was only way this was going to end now. Scar looked down from the view of the upper sections and at the swirling tangle of light at the centre of the circular room. He had been told what it was, and he knew what would set it off. He knew that if any matter made contact with it that wasn't meant to, it would finish the Muuaji off for good. A second instance of contact however, would completely destroy everything. The entire world would be swallowed up by an energy discharge and there would be nothing left at all.

Now was the time to set it off for the first time.

Scar and Jasiri picked up Zira's body and without any hesitation, threw it into the light. It pulsated and danced around violently as the Muuaji above began to take notice. But before they could do anything they all broke apart in the air and dissolved into a billion tiny pieces. A very strange process. One ending with none of them left, not even the commander.

It was all over so quickly. Who'd have thought that a force so devastating could be wiped out just like that. But of course now there was a threat as equally as devastating as them about to go on the offence.

Scar.

"You really were fools to trust me. Huh, and you thought you were supreme in the universe."

 **Well, when I said tides turning, you get what I meant. Now Scar is the biggest threat to the Pridelands... Again. At least the pride has moved to a new safe point. So what did you think of this one? Leave a review and tell me if you wish, reviews are always appreciated. The next chapter will up in a couple of days.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Alright, we're nearly two thirds of the way through now. The last 'act' I suppose you could call it gets a bit weirder (as if this whole thing wasn't weird enough already), but I'm sure it'll still be an entertaining read nonetheless. Enjoy.**

Chapter 19

Once again it was a scene consisting of what was left of the pride all hiding in the cave of Pride rock while the few in charge tried to conjure up a plan. Kion had volunteered to keep watch outside while the others stayed inside the cave. Rafiki was with Kiara and Kovu on their own, away from everyone else.

"What you tell me is very peculiar indeed." Rafiki said. "I have had theories about it before, but never has it actually happened before."

"But you don't know exactly what happened to me?" Kiara asked.

"I'm afraid I don't. But it seems to have passed now and der aren't any oter symptoms. I believe you are fine now."

"Alright. I'll believe that for now."

"So what are we going to do about this invasion?" Kovu contributed.

"There's nothing we can do. We have only two options. Die here or try and leave the Pridelands." Kiara suggested.

"Dat won't work. You know why dey are invading, don't you?" Said Rafiki. "Dey are here because dey want a new home. And since you two destroyed de Skylands dey only have one place left to go. Here."

"Yes, but if we leave the Pridelands they'll-" Kovu was interrupted by Rafiki.

"Don't you realise dat dey don't just want de Pridelands, but de whole world? Dey will spread across de entire Earth until dey have fully colonized it and killed everyting else."

Kovu hadn't thought of that. It seemed obvious now he thought about it but how could he not have noticed it earlier on? The Muuaji were here to take over the whole world, not just the Pridelands. And they were right at the front line of defence.

"Ah, shit." Exclaimed Kovu, as he glanced back out of the cave. "Great. So we have nothing. Goddammit."

Kiara came forward and gave an idea, hoping it might take Kovu's mind off of the situation.

"I say we take a step towards taking them down. Do whatever it takes. How about for starters we try and unhypnotise that hyena that's under Scar's control?"

"A hyena? Hypnotised by Scar?" Rafiki said in puzzlement.

"Yeah. When Scar turned up at your tree he had a hyena with him. She looked completely mindless and did exactly what he said so she must have been under some kind of trance or something." Kiara continued.

"Hmm... Dis is very interesting. I tink I know how Scar did it as well."

"You do?" Went Kovu.

"Yes. Der is an old method I know of that can force someone to obey de will of another. It involves a kind of herb."

"Well, do you know how to undo it?"

"It should be quite an easy ting to reverse. The hyena must be reminded of something that has a strong impression in her mind."

"How on Earth are we supposed to know what that is?" Kiara exclaimed.

"Wait, Kion and Fuli seemed to know the hyena." Kovu said. "Maybe they know something that'll get her out of that trance."

"Where's Kion?"

"Out on watch. I'll go and get him."

Kovu made a start towards the exit to get Kion inside. But Kion was already coming in to them, looking as though he was in a hurry.

"Kovu! You'll never guess what I just saw happen over at the Muuaji base." He exclaimed.

"What is it?"

"I just saw a huge flash of light from that cloud tower and then all the Muuaji flying around it disappeared. It might just be hopeful thinking but this could mean they've gone."

"But they wouldn't just go. They don't have anywhere to go. Show me."

"Come on then."

Kion lead Kovu quickly out of the cave and around to the thin ledge at the back of Pride rock that faced the north. They had a perfect view of the invaders base from there and it was as Kion had described. All the Muuaji that had been patrolling around it earlier had vanished.

"I see what you were talking about." Kovu said. "Lets send a small group to go and investigate. We'll get them ready immediately."

 **And so the final act is set into motion. What will they find and what will happen concerning Scar? Please leave a review if you wish, I know some chapters are more reviewable than others but still. Guest reviews are welcome too. Chapter 20 will be up at the usual time so see ya then.**


	20. Chapter 20

**So here's where we reach the two thirds mark. Wasn't that quick? Anyway, where we last left off the pride was assembling a group to go and investigate the flash that came from the north of Pride rock where the Muuaji's base is. Enjoy.**

Chapter 20

All preparations were made. The individuals to go and check out the Muuaji's base had been selected and Rafiki was to be left in charge until the group got back. The ones going to the base were Kiara, Kovu, Kion, Vitani, Maisha and Mpenzi. Kiara and Kovu had objected to Maisha and Mpenzi coming at first, but they just kept nagging and begging to come with them, saying that they would be helpful, that they decided to say yes in the end.

The group was about to head out as they had one last talk with Rafiki out on the ledge before they did.

"Now, Rafiki, you know what you have to do if Scar turns up." Kovu asked.

"You had better go through it one more time just to be certain." The Mandrill replied.

"OK. We're going to investigate the base. While we're gone you're in charge of these people. Keep them safe and if anything bad turns up you get them to safety. Take them to Vitani's den, that should be safe enough." Kovu ran through Rafiki's instructions.

"The den is by some rocks in the Mbali fields. You can't miss it." Vitani added.

"Alright. Don't worry. I will not let dees people come to any harm. Good luck and I hope to see ya all again soon."

"See ya later." Kovu said.

Kiara and the others all said similar farewells before they began their trek. The six of them were soon en route to their destination in the north.

Rafiki looked back at the lions (and meerkat, warthog and hornbill) that he was now responsible for. If there was an attack of some kind, he knew exactly what he was going to do.

 _I will keep dem safe. At all costs._

* * *

Scar and Jasiri were the only things left standing inside the tall cloud structure. Everything else had vaporised. There was nothing left of the Muuaji.

"And now for Kiara's pride. They shouldn't be too hard to take out." Scar said, evil glinting in his eyes. "Jasiri, you know what you have to do if all else fails?"

Jasiri looked to her left, at the matter drive, the swirling ball of light that supposedly gave the place its power. The thing that would flatten the world if anything touched it one more time. She looked back at Scar and answered.

"I do."

"Excellent, my dear. Now I want you to go to Pride rock and conceal yourself in the lower cave until I catch you up. Now go."

Jasiri obeyed at once, marching out of the tower and beyond Scar's view. Scar glanced at the matter drive again, a grin on his face.

"If I do die then I'm taking you all with me."

* * *

They were passing a small sized mountain with a very sheer face. The quickest route from Pride rock to the Muuaji's tower meant going past it. There was no danger in doing so, apart from the occasional clump of dirt that fell down from somewhere higher up.

Kovu was leading the six man party, with Kiara just behind. Maisha and Mpenzi were in the middle so they could be better protected and Kion was with Vitani at the rear.

"It looks like we're getting quite close now." Vitani called to the front.

"And there aren't any of those things around. That's a good sign at least." Kion added.

"I think we can get there in about ten minutes if we keep going at this pace." Kovu called back. "But still keep your wits about you. You never know."

There was no wind as they continued on their journey. No wind, no sound at all. Just the sun blaring high in the sky. Just then Kion heard the sound of some small stones falling down a vertical surface. He looked at the first thing that came to mind, the mountain to their right. He couldn't see anything at first but he swore that something didn't feel right.

It felt as though they were being watched. And then, all of a sudden, he saw it. The dark silhouette of a thin lion came into view, the intensely bright light from the sun and the huge distance blocking out any features. It hovered for a second before plummeting down to the ground. Right towards them.

 **What could that be? You'll have to wait to find out I'm afraid. But it does start to get very intense from this point onwards I think, but I'll let you decide that for yourselves. Chapter 21 should be up at the usual time in a couple days. If you can find something to review about in this chapter then please do so. I always appreciate reviews.**


	21. Chapter 21

**I can reveal now that there are just ten more chapters to go after this one. This has been a very long game hasn't it? And now it's time for another move to be played. Sorry this is only a short chapter but you won't be disappointed with what it leads into over the next couple of chapters. Anyway, you remember where we left off last time, right?**

Chapter 21

"Oh shit, watch out! Above!" Yelled Kion as the dark figure came hurtling towards them from the sky.

Everyone looked up but they were too late. The lion landed with a powerful crash that sent shock waves through the ground, knocking the group off balance and they all fell to the ground. The dark lion got to his feet fast and looked around, his green eyes surveying his handiwork.

Kovu was the first to regain his stance and he got a good look at their kamikaze attacker.

"Did you miss me, son?" Taunted Scar.

"Scar. No I didn't miss you one bit." Kovu replied spitefully.

"Oh, must we speak with bitter tongues? Really, can't you be civilized for once?"

"Shut up. Now tell me, what's happened to the Muuaji base? There was a flash of light and they all disappeared. What happened?"

"You'll be happy to know that I've disposed of those stuck up idiots. And that leaves room for me to initiate my own plan. King of Pride rock was one thing, but king of the entire world will be even more satisfying."

"You can't achieve that. You're just insane. And where's Zira anyway?"

"Dead. Which is just what your friends will soon be. Dead and forgotten when I have moulded my own perfect world."

"We'll kill you before that happens, you know."

Without realising it Scar and Kovu were now circling each other, both with their claws unsheathed and ready, glinting in the sunshine.

"I don't think you'll find that an easy task by any means." Scar responded to Kovu's remark. "Remember the hyena, Jasiri? Lets just say she has orders to... Fuck the whole planet up if I'm not victorious in my goals. Using something in the base."

"What do you mean?" Kovu snarled.

Now the others that had been hit harder than Kovu were beginning to come round. Scar took this as a cue to make his exit. He looked at all the lions on the ground, facing away from Kovu.

"You'll find out what I mean all in good time."

Scar then, without any warning, leapt up in the air and span himself around in the direction of where Kovu was standing. He landed with his back paws making hard contact with Kovu's face, knocking him over. Scar looked up from the ground and just for half a second, that's all, Kovu saw his eyes were a bright red. Not like Simba's eyes but a glowing, evil red. Then they returned to their original green colour, leaving no trace of the brief change.

Kovu gasped as Scar grinned and turned away.

"Catch me if you can, you inferior mortal." He said coldly.

Scar's dark body then became nothing but a blur as it vanished into the distance at a speed that only the cheetah, Fuli, could match. He was going to Pride rock.

By now all the group had recovered and regrouped. Kiara was rubbing the back of her neck because it ached and Kovu was comforting his daughter.

"What the hell was that?" Kiara cried.

"It was Scar. We have to get back to Pride rock. Now."

 **Will they make it in time? Well there's ten more chapter so something must happen. Sorry for it being a kind of filler chapter. Well, a filler chapter with a lot of significance to the story, not really sure what to call that. Anyway, do you like the way I'm giving Scar these weird powers? We'll be seeing more of them in later chapters for sure. And be sure to leave a review if you please.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey again everyone! Back with another chapter for ya. It's not much I'm afraid but I know you'll enjoy it all the same.**

Chapter 22

"I hope they're alright. Who knows what could happen out there?" Fuli voiced her concern to Rafiki.

"I am sure dey are fine, Fuli. Don't get so worried." Rafiki replied.

"OK. I guess it's only natural under these circumstances."

About ten minutes had passed since the group lead by Kovu had left to go and check out the Muuaji's base after the flash of light came out of it and all the Muuaji flying around it disappeared. It was either a good sign or the start of something even worse for the pride. Either way it would benefit them if they knew.

"Hey Rafiki. I hope you don't mind me asking but how old are you exactly?" Asked Fuli.

"Oh, numbers do not mean a ting my dear. It is intelligence and wisdom dat matter de most."

"I see. Only, you don't seem to age, like, ever. How long have you been in the Pridelands for anyway?"

"I have been here a long, long time. I came here when Mohatu was a young cub in fact. And I tink you know just how long ago dat was."

"Blimey. That is old then. If you don't mind me saying."

"Not at all, my dear."

"Well, I'll let you get on with watch duty. Talk to ya later."

Fuli departed and left Rafiki alone by the mouth of the cave to keep watch. It was, after all, his duty to keep the pride safe.

So far the coast was clear. But then all of a sudden there was a gust of wind, blowing Rafiki's white hair about.

"Hmm. What is dat, Mufasa? Der is danger approaching?"

Rafiki had always had a strange 'connection' with Mufasa's spirit. If it even existed that is. But in the past it had always been helpful so Rafiki respected what 'he' had to say in these kinds of situations. If Mufasa said there was danger approaching then he meant it. And that meant that Rafiki had to get everyone to safety ASAP. Kovu gave him instructions to move everybody to Vitani's den if any trouble should arise. However, the danger was almost certainly going to be Scar coming to kill them. That much was quite obvious so Rafiki decided that the pride would have a better chance at escaping if there was someone to hold him off for as long as possible. It was a dangerous job but it was necessary.

The Mandrill turned to address the lions and other animals in the cave quickly gaining their attention.

"Everybody listen up! Der is danger approaching and I believe it is Scar."

There were murmurings and whispers and gasps from all around the cave. Rafiki carried on.

"Do not panic. I want ya all to head over to Vitani's den in de Mbali fields and hide der for de time being."

"What about you?" Zuri called out.

"I will stay here and hold him off while you all get to de den. Now please go, and don't ask any more questions."

Swiftly and calmly the party all began to exit the cave and step down the side of Pride rock.

"Good luck." Said Fuli as she passed by on her way out.

Rafiki watched as they went until he could barely see them in the distance. Scar had to be close now, and there was no way he would be able to spot the migrating lions meaning he would come up to the cave and check first. And Rafiki would be waiting for him.

* * *

This was the first time the Pridelands had been this quiet since the Muuaji came a couple days ago. Funny how quickly the lions could get used to all the noise and sounds of death and destruction.

Currently the group consisted of Fuli, Tiifu, Zuri, Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu, Shenzi, Banzai, Ed, Kontar and Adia. Fuli had lived in Vitani's den for the past few years so she knew exactly where it was and thus was leading the others. Near the back of the flock the hyenas were starting to do their moaning and complaining that they didn't seem to go a day without doing.

"Man, all this walking around is killing me." Complained Banzai. "Why don't I just let those things get me now and I can have it all over and done with."

"Oh stop your winging, Banzai." Retorted Shenzi. "It's bad enough that we have to travel with these lions. We don't need you bringing more negativity to the table."

Ed just laughed. Heaven knows why.

"I really don't know what you find so funny, Ed." Shenzi said, turning her attention to the mindless friend of hers.

"It's cause he's not right in the head." Banzai added. "And it's probably because of these assholes in front, I'll bet."

"Hey." Tiifu grunted as she turned her head to look at the insulter. "I heard that you know."

"You were meant to." Huffed Banzai.

Arguments would have to wait until later when they were all in the sanctuary of the den. The group pressed on under the glaring sun, through the now silent Pridelands. The Muuaji must have finished off everything. They were probably the only living creatures left here. How could those monsters do something like this?

At least it would all be over soon. One way or another.

 **Indeed it will. But how? That's the question. So there's going to be some intense (and dare I say over the top) action coming up in the next chapter. In fact I might consider posting chapter 23 a bit earlier than usual cause I'm feeling generous. But we'll have to see. Anyway, feel free to leave a review and I'll see ya in the next one.**


	23. Chapter 23

**So here's chapter 23, a day early. You can thank me later. So, Scar is about to go up to Pride rock where Rafiki is waiting. Who will come out on top, if either of them? P.S this one is quite action-y. Enjoy.**

Chapter 23

"Wait here. Only come if I give a signal." Scar instructed Jasiri at the base of Pride rock.

"I obey." The hyena replied.

"Good. Now it's time to finish this once and for all."

Scar began his ascent of Pride rock, up the steps as fire started to line his paws and his mane turned to the burning, orange flame.

When he got to the top he was greeted with an immediate view of the cave. But something was wrong. There was nobody there. Well... Almost nobody.

Scar entered the cave, lighting up the darkened interior with his unnatural body of fire. And there in front of him stood Rafiki, his back turned to the dark lion and his staff in both hands going horizontally across his front.

"I knew you were coming. So I already evacuated dem all." He said, keeping his back turned.

"You freaky monkey. I've never liked you. Now tell me, where are they?" Scar demanded.

"I would never tell you dat."

"Is that right?" Scar muttered, flexing his burning paw. "Well in that case I'll just have to make you talk."

Scar began to take slow, threatening steps towards the monkey. Though Rafiki couldn't see him doing this.

"I'm going to make you wish you never came to the Pridelands with that over confident fool, Mohatu." Scar continued to taunt.

Rafiki remained motionless where he stood. He wasn't going to move. He was standing his ground.

.

.

.

Or was he?

All of a sudden the Mandrill swung round and threw his staff at the approaching beast. It spun around in the air as it hurtled towards Scar but he ducked right at the final second and it flew straight over his head, slicing off the thinnest possible strand of hair from his mane. The staff landed on the ledge outside with a clunk.

Scar got back into a straight posture almost instantly and grinned evilly. Before Rafiki could react the dark lion became a blur that was fast approaching, faster than should be at all possible. Scar was about to slam into Rafiki but the crazy monkey jumped just in time and front flipped himself over Scar's back. He landed perfectly on his feet and turned to face his opponent, who had collided with the back wall of the cave and was now trying to regain his balance.

"Too slow." Rafiki mocked.

"Fucking die you piece of shit!" Scar yelled.

The two fighters then initiated a sprint towards each other. This time Scar was going at a normal speed and Rafiki wasn't showing any signs of stopping.

As Scar bared his teeth and unsheathed his claws, leaping in for the kill, Rafiki swiftly turned his whole body around in mid-air, pulling off a full three sixty degree spin and then ending with a kick to Scar's face. The flaming lion went tumbling backwards as Rafiki stood over him, victorious.

"Give up?" He once again mocked the defeated creature.

Without replying Scar got back to his feet and threw out his paw. Bolts of fire came speeding out of it, all heading straight for Rafiki. However, the Mandrill quickly reacted and he pushed off of the ground with both feet, flipping backwards, going head over heals, and landing smoothly. As each fire bolt came closer, he did the same move, dodging every single shot that Scar fired as they all flew underneath his body and out into the air of the Pridelands where they disappeared.

Eventually Scar gave up with shooting fire at the agile enemy and he ceased fire, instead adopting a sprint towards his target while he was occupied with avoiding the flames.

As Rafiki landed for the final time he was hit by a charging Scar which sent him flying across the outside ledge where he finally came to a halt close to the edge.

Scar picked up the monkey's staff in his mouth as he came closer to the downed target, and he noticed that it was quiet sharp at one end where it had been chipped upon impact with the ground. And then the evil lion had an idea.

Rafiki remained on the ground, unable to recover from the last blow as the flaming, dark monster closed in.

"Nice effort, but you made one fatal mistake..." Scar said.

Rafiki just coughed.

"Trying to fight me in the first place..."

And with one huge swing downwards Scar plummeted the staff into Rafiki's chest, making him immediately cease breathing. He pulled out the staff and threw it away to the side, glaring with pleasure at his victory.

"Jasiri!" He called.

Moments later the mindless hyena appeared at Scar's side, ready to obey his every whim and order.

"Now that this inferior freak is dead it's time to take care of the real rodents. They can't have gone that far. We'll search for them until we find them. Now come on."

The fire around Scar's mane and paws smoothly vanished before he and Jasiri headed off down to ground level, leaving the dead, bleeding corpse of Rafiki atop the ledge for someone else to find.

And soon enough someone did just that...

 **Bet you didn't think I'd kill off Rafiki did ya? Now there's nothing in the way of Scar and the rest of the pride. What will they all do now you might be wondering?**

 **And by the way, I hope I'm not overdoing it with these powers for Scar. I know it's very unusual for something like The Lion King but remember, they had flipping ghosts in the first film. So let me know what you think of that.**

 **And please be sure to leave a review and tell me what you liked. I'll be back in three days with the next chapter. See ya.**


	24. Chapter 24

**OK, time to see the aftermath of that heart pounding fight scene in the last chapter. I'm afraid this one ain't much but, oh well, it's something. Enjoy.**

Chapter 24

"I hope we're not too late." Kiara said as the six lion party came to the base of Pride rock.

Kovu lead them all up the steps at the side. He noticed that on the ground there were occasional lumps of ash. Could they have been from Scar? If so then they were already too late.

Only one way to find out.

Kovu and Kiara got to the top of the steps first and they hopped up onto the ledge. Kiara's eye was caught quickly by the slumped down clump of black and white fur near the tip of Pride rock. She soon realised what, or rather _who_ it was.

"Rafiki!" She shouted.

She rushed over to check on him, not waiting for the others to catch up first. Kovu hurried after her when he had finished helping his daughter up and soon the whole group was with Kiara.

They all stood over the dead, lifeless body of the Mandrill that had for so long been the backbone of the Pridelands' stability.

"No..." Kiara whimpered.

Kovu made a half-hearted attempt to cover the cubs' view of the horrific scene but failed.

"Is he...?" Maisha asked.

"I'm afraid so." Kovu replied.

Kiara closed her eyes and bowed her head in sadness. It's not like she and Rafiki had been particularly close or anything, but he had been a friend of the family since long before she was born. And because of that she felt a special kind of... bond with him. That and he was the only one that even partially understood what happened to her after her narrow escape from the Skylands. Now she might never know exactly what it was.

"How could this have happened?" Vitani said.

"Scar must've got here first and took him out." Kovu deduced.

While Kiara was busy grieving over the monkey's death Kovu looked back into the cave and saw that it was empty. Strange. Where was the rest of the pride?

"Hey. Where's the rest of them?" He said.

They all turned to look into the cave and saw what Kovu had seen. Nothing. Not even a pile of bodies. Which was both a good and a bad sign. On one hand they might have escaped but on the other something much worse could have happened to them.

"Do you think they got away?" Kion suggested.

"But if they did then why didn't Rafiki go with them?" Vitani asked next.

"I don't know. Maybe he stayed behind to help then get away. Guess we'll never find out now." Kovu said glancing back at Rafiki.

As he was looking in that direction though something he saw jumped out at him and came to his attention. Rafiki's staff was on the ground only a few feet away from his corpse. It was glowing red at the end with the fruits tied to it.

 _'How_ odd' Kovu thought.

He went over to the staff and nudged it with his paw. Nothing happened. He picked it up in his mouth and it felt normal. He then decided to take it inside the cave and on the wall a glowing spot had appeared.

"Kovu, what are you doing?" Kiara asked when she saw Kovu carrying the stick for some reason.

Kovu ignored Kiara's question and approached the glowing spot on the wall. He hesitated for a moment before touching the end of the staff to the glow and to his surprise, a picture appeared.

The image depicted a small cave with multiple lions inside. Outside and a short distance from the cave was a picture of a dark lion and a hyena. It was pretty obvious what it meant.

Kovu opened his mouth and the stick dropped from it and clattered onto the ground. He turned to the others who by now had all started watching what was going on.

"What is it?" Mpenzi said in awe. He had never seen something like this happen before.

"I think it's showing us what's occurring outside now." Kovu replied. He pointed to the cave part of the drawing. "That has to be Vitani's den and the pride is inside. And it looks like Scar and Jasiri are on their way there now."

"We have to get after them." Kiara exclaimed.

"I agree. Come on."

Kovu bolted out of the cave with Kiara right behind him, followed by Kion and Vitani. The two cubs were reluctant to follow at first, Mpenzi complaining "Ugh, more running." and Maisha prompting him and herself in a way to follow the adults.

They had to move fast if they were going to reach the den before Scar did. If Scar beat them there the pride would have no chance against him and he'd kill them all easily. They could not let that happen.

 **Now it's a race against time to save the world. A bit cliche but what do ya expect from the finale? Feel free to leave a review by the way.**

 **Also since we're racing towards the conclusio** **n of this story and the majority of the chapters from now on are going to be shorter than they have recently, I'm going to upload a new chapter every two days instead of every three. I know, I am amazing aren't I? So with that said I'll be back with the next chapter in TWO days.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Alright, kind of another filler chapter here, just sort of characters having a chat for the time being. Think of it as a sort of breather in between the main action. Enjoy.**

Chapter 25

The coast appeared to be clear as Fuli gazed out of the den. They had all managed to get there in one piece which, if nothing else, was a moral booster. But the cheetah couldn't help but worry about that crazy old monkey that had stayed behind to fight Scar in order for the rest of them to escape alive. Her train of thought was broken however when she heard bickering from within the den. She looked back to see the hyenas talking with Tiifu and Zuri. Well, debating might have been a more apt description of what was going on actually.

"So even you lions don't know why you hate us hyenas so much?" Banzai said loudly but not quite in a shout.

"Honestly, we don't. That's just what we've been brought up to believe." Tiifu replied.

"Hmph. Typical. It seems like you lot aren't competent enough to remember exactly why you treat us this way or smart enough to come up with a solution. Like stop it!" Banzai was being a bit of a loud mouth as usual.

"Hey, now you've already been granted a return to the Pridelands so I don't see why you're talking like that to us." Zuri retorted. "Kiara and Kovu could quite easily change their minds you know."

Shenzi then stepped in to handle things a bit more formally than Banzai had been managing.

"Banzai, I'll handle this. Now, we just wanted to know why exactly you lions think we're so inferior. But it seems like you don't even know yourselves."

"All the more reason to put it behind us and move on I think." Tiifu gave her opinion.

"Right. That's just what I was thinking." Shenzi continued. "But there is still the concern that we have about guarantee. How do we know that we'll be given our own place here when this is over?"

"Well I... I guess..." Zuri tried to find a suitable answer but was struggling to come up with one. "OK, so we can't give a guarantee, but isn't our word enough?"

"I suppose it'll have to do for now. But just remember that no matter what you think of us, we do have the decency to obey the rules of the Pridelands. As long as we're provided for just the same as any other inhabitant here."

The hyena trio then decided to make a quick departure and moved to an empty part of the den. Not like there was a whole lot of room however, it wasn't the roomiest of caves.

Fuli sighed and said to herself "I still can't believe we're going to share this place with them."

When the hyenas had got themselves comfortable in the corner Fuli went over to the two lionesses they had just left.

"Hyenas, aye. They're never happy, are they?" She said.

"Nope. Still, you can't blame them after what they've been put through." Replied Tiifu.

"As long as they don't cause any major problems I'm fine with them being here." Zuri added.

"I don't think they'll be able to cause any trouble once order returns to this place." Fuli said. "Kiara and Kovu will make sure of that. And Kion too."

"You like Kion don't you?" Asked Zuri.

"Well, yeah I guess. But not in that way. He's the only friend I still have from childhood. All the others are dead. And I think it's really getting to me after all this time as well."

"Is that why you went out last night? To think things over?"

"Well... Um. Kinda." Fuli sighed and carried on. "To tell you the truth I was actually going... I mean I went to Pride rock that night and I climbed up to the top to..." She just couldn't tell them about what she tried to do, not right now. "Oh, I don't know. It's been a funny few days recently hasn't it?"

"That's an understatement. But I'm sure it will soon be over, we'll get back to normal in no time."

"I wish I could see it that way, Zuri."

Sure, things _might_ return to normal but there would always be signs of what had happened here. Scars from this invasion that would remain for years to come. But that was better than having no return to equilibrium. Wasn't it?

 **So, next chapter will be up in two days. Not long now before the conclusion to this story. Are you excited? Anyway, see ya in a couple days.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Heads up guys, this is where the final climax begins! I hope you like it.**

Chapter 26

The den was in sight, hiding rather low to the ground in some particularly rocky terrain but still very visible to the green eyes of Scar. He and his will-less minion watched from a safe distance for any signs of a look out at the den's entrance. There was one there, a lioness with dark green eyes and three spots under each eye was watching around. After some time Zuri disappeared inside the den again and but no one else came to take her place. This was their chance to attack. And of course, they took it.

"Alright. Move out. Tread my steps and stay silent." Scar whispered to Jasiri before he started to sneak towards the den under the cover of the rocks and occasional patches of long grass.

Jasiri managed to mimic Scar's movements perfectly and so the pair of them made absolutely no noise what so ever.

Before they knew it they were right outside the entrance to the den with a clear as crystal view of the interior. All the pride was inside except for the few that Scar had run into on his way to Pride rock. This was his chance to eradicate them all for good, and then he could begin the next stage of his plan to take over the world.

The two took their chance when nobody was looking in their direction and they burst into the cave. Scar cast a line of fire across the floor, creating a barrier between him and the pride members, and also between the pride and the exit.

Everyone gasped and showed faces of shock as they turned to attention from the sudden attack. They were all frozen on the spot from the shock.

"Alright, now stay right where you are, all of you!" Scar bellowed as loudly as he could to make sure his instructions were completely understood.

When the noise (and flames) quietened down Scar started to pace left to right and vice versa around the den, keeping a close eye on his new prisoners.

"Not like you have much choice anyway." He appended to his previous sentence. "Now I would like you all to line up so I can kill you easily and with no mess. No more mess than is necessary that is."

"You can't just kill us." Timon pleaded.

"Shut it, slapstick midget." Scar snapped back. "I'm going to have you all dead in the next five minutes whether you like it or not. But don't worry, the rest of the world will have the same joy as you, all in good time."

"Wait, where's Rafiki?" Fuli asked quickly.

"That daft Mandrill of yours? He's lying on top of Pride rock with a hole through his chest." Scar admitted proudly.

"No..." Fuli quietly muttered.

"Now, any more last questions?"

Nobody gave an answer. What answer could they give? Then a familiar voice came from behind Scar.

"I have one. Are you gonna fight me or not?" It was the voice of the king, Kovu.

Kiara and Kovu stood in the mouth of the den with Kion and Vitani either side of them and the cubs beside them also.

There was a hint of hope that went around the pride members upon seeing these six show up.

"That depends." Scar replied to Kovu's question. "Do you think you're capable of fighting me without dying straight away?"

"I think I can last long enough to do some damage, lets put it like that." Kovu said, standing boldly.

"Well, it seems like I have to prove my dominance to you before I kill your miserable excuse for a pride. I accept the challenge."

"Good."

Kiara came right up to Kovu and spoke in his ear. "Kovu, you'll never beat him. And he has that hyena fighting for him too. You don't stand a chance."

"Kiara, I can take him on. Just get everyone back to Pride rock. Please."

Kiara couldn't believe this. Kovu was going to try and fight Scar and Jasiri alone. There was no way he could win. But then again, there wasn't time to argue about it. Kiara did what Kovu said.

"Come on everyone, back to Pride rock. You'll be safe there."

All of the pride waltzed past Scar and Kovu, warily keeping an eye on one of them in particular, and followed Kion and Vitani away from the den. Kiara stayed however, not wanting to leave her husband alone with this murderous madman.

"Kiara go, get them to safety. Now." Kovu demanded.

"But Kovu-"

"Just go."

Kiara waited a moment, and then decided. She began to exit the den, looking back as she did.

"I'll come back as soon as the others are safe. You have to make it Kovu. Don't die on me."

"I don't plan to."

Kiara then left, not wanting to but she had to nonetheless. Kovu's focus remained on Scar and Jasiri in front of him.

Now was the time to end this, once and for all.

 **And so the battle commences. Let me know how you think it will go down and leave a review. The next chapter will be up in two days.**


	27. Chapter 27

**So the final showdown begins between Scar and Kovu! If only Simba and Nala were here to see it. Well, enjoy this one.**

Chapter 27

The stage was set for the battle. Kovu versus Scar and a brainwashed Jasiri. And the odds had gone to hell right from the get go. Now it was just a matter of who would make the first move. Then Kovu thought, if he could delay the actual fight long enough then Kiara would arrive to help him out, making it an even fight. But there was only so long you could delay a fight under these circumstances.

"Who'll be lion enough to launch the first attack, I wonder?" Scar said.

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see." Kovu responded.

"I have an idea." Scar turned to face Jasiri. "Jasiri, why don't you go and prime the matter drive at the base? If I'm not there with you in say... Twenty minutes, then you activate it."

"Affirmative." The hyena replied, expressionless.

Jasiri then left the den and sprinted off to go to the Muuaji's, now abandoned, base. This left just Scar and Kovu, staring each other down, one filled with vengeance and the other with insanity.

"Don't you think you're putting yourself at a disadvantage by sending her away?" Kovu pointed out.

"Not really. I can easily kill you on my own. It doesn't make a blind bit of difference whether I have help or not."

"We'll soon see about that."

The two lions had once again inadvertently began circling each other. Both were desperately trying to work out what the other was planning. Kovu was concentrating so much that he had a delayed reaction when Scar charged at him with incredible speed. Although no reaction time would have been fast enough to counter a move like that. Kovu was sent flying out of the den and landed outside then hit against a rock sticking out of the ground. His body hit the ground with a thud and he slowly got back up, clearly shaken up by the attack. Kovu coughed and spluttered as Scar came closer to him.

"I don't know... What you've become, Scar. But you're not a lion any more. That's for damn sure."

Scar chuckled and proceeded to smack Kovu in the face with his paw. He then kicked him with his hind legs, and again, and again, and again... Multiple times before Kovu was utterly bashed out on the ground. Scar stood over him, his eyes now glowing an evil red from all the excitement of the battle. He chuckled again and just as Kovu was raising his head from off the ground he gave it another big smack with his paw.

"Sure I'm not a lion any more. But just look at the power I've gained!"

Scar, fuelled by ego and evil at this point, used all the strength he could bring out of himself to knock Kovu across the battle area in one clean swipe from his paw, leaving a trail of blood behind.

"Magnificent, don't you think!?"

Kovu just about managed to get to his feet again in time to see the dark lion charging at him again, though not at an abnormal speed this time. Kovu jumped to the left and Scar crashed into the rock face first. Kovu saw an opportunity and took it as he went in to kick Scar while he was supposedly stunned. Scar reacted instantly however and launched himself into the air, curving his back to get over Kovu's head and land behind him before ramming the younger lion in the back, knocking him to the ground yet again.

"Give up?" Scar taunted.

"Never!" Kovu shouted.

"Very well."

Scar stood over Kovu and got ready to deliver the final blow. There was no way Kovu was going to be able to get up and move after all the hits he'd just taken. This looked like the end for him.

 **Sorry to make you wait yet again. I know, I'm so evil aren't I? But will it really be the end for Kovu, or will Kiara make it back in time to stop this gruesome fate coming through? I'll be back with chapter 28 on Sunday (give or take a bit of time, different time zones and all that), so till then, fingers crossed.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Ready to find out what the outcome of the last chapter is? I know you are, don't lie to me. Well, here it is. The 'resolution'...**

Chapter 28

Kiara watched as the last of the lions entered the cave of Pride rock. Finally they were all back home. That is, almost all of them. She looked behind her and out into the savannah, her mind filled with images of Kovu getting his ass kicked by that monster of a lion.

"Well, that's the last of them." Kion declared as he came over to Kiara. "I think we did a good job."

"Maybe. But Kovu's still out there fighting with Scar and Jasiri." Kiara responded.

She looked back into the cave. Everyone was back safely so that was something at least. Although a lot of them were quite shocked by Rafiki's body that was still out on the ledge. They'd have to clear it later and arrange for a funeral ceremony when all this was over.

"Kion, if everyone is here now then can you and me please go and help Kovu? He can't win against Scar by himself and you know it."

"Sure. Lets go now. And while we're there we have to get Jasiri to come to her senses as well, whatever has happened to her."

"Alright. Lets move out."

Kiara and Kion set off quickly and were soon on the ground. Brother and sister running as fast as possible to assist the lion they loved so much, Kiara for relationship reasons and Kion for friendship. They just hoped that it wasn't too late already.

* * *

Scar was stood bearing down over a helpless and battered Kovu. Blood was spilling from multiple wounds over the younger dark lion and they had had an effect on him. He wasn't able to get up and fight back and he couldn't defend himself. He was truly defenceless right now.

"Any last words?" Scar said in a mocking tone.

Kovu spluttered out some blood from his mouth and gave an answer.

"Fucking go to hell. False father."

"Oh, why did you have to make our last meeting with each other so hateful? Not like it matters to me of course. Now I'll try and make this as painful as I possibly can. Are you ready?"

Scar chuckled, his chuckle turning into a full on villainous laugh as he lowered his paw closer to Kovu's face to give the final hit. Only inches away from his target though and he was knocked to the side by something colliding with his body.

Kovu opened his eyes and sighed in relief as he saw Kion standing on Scar on the ground, pinning him down. Kiara came into view mere moments later, a smug grin on her face as she looked over at Scar.

"I said I'd be back. Didn't you prepare?" She said.

"You bitch." Scar spat. "You're father was just as bothersome you know."

"Yeah, well my father's dead. So shut your fucking mouth. Kion, keep that up for the minute."

"Sure thing, sis."

Kiara let Kion keep Scar pinned down while she helped Kovu back to his feet. He was still bleeding in places but at least he was still alive.

"How you doing?" She asked.

"I could be better." Kovu replied. "Thanks for coming back for me."

"I said I would. And I'll always come back for you, Kovu. No matter what."

"But you did cut it a bit fine I must say. Do you think next time you could arrive before the nick of time?"

"I'll try." Kiara chuckled.

"What do we do with him?" Kion asked.

Kiara and Kovu turned to the dark lion being held down. There was only thing they could do with Scar. There was only one thing he deserved.

"We kill him." Kiara said coldly.

"Go on then." Scar said. "But you'll regret it. I swear."

Kion got off of Scar and Kiara came over to him.

"Nothing you do or say can change what I think about you. Everything that's happened to me and the Pridelands over the last few years is all because of you. You ruined my life and the lives of everyone here. Well now I say to you, Scar, you can go to hell. It's the only place left to go now that the Skylands are gone. Have fun there. I hate you."

The only thing that came next was the sound of Kiara's paw hitting Scar's face. He fell to the ground and Kiara started to tear and scratch at his exposed stomach. Blood began to pour everywhere around his body, turning the ground a deep red. Kiara noticed that she began crying while she was busy hacking and slashing at her enemy.

In fact she only stopped when Kovu took hold of her paws and pulled her away. Trying to calm her down and comfort her.

"Kiara. Kiara, he's dead. You can stop now. It's alright." He said. "It's over."

Kiara quickly calmed down and took a deep breath, then buried her face in Kovu's fur and sobbed loudly. Kovu rubbed her on the back with his paw and soothed her the best he could.

"There there, Kiara. You're alright now. You're with me."

Kion came and sat next to the couple, looking at Kiara's handiwork sprawled out across the ground. It was the angriest and fiercest he'd ever seen his sister. He didn't think there was a side of her that was this terrible. But at least the job was done. That was all that mattered right now.

"I guess that's it then. We've finally done it. Right?" Kion said.

"Yep. All these years of trouble and it's finally over. I can't believe it any more than you do." Kovu replied.

Kion was relieved as were Kiara and Kovu. Kiara started to cease her crying as she sniffled a few times and then she seemed OK. Kion glanced around the area once more and noticed that something was missing. Someone was missing.

"Wait a minute. Where's Jasiri?" He asked.

"Oh crap!" went Kovu. "Scar sent her off to the Muuaji's base. He told her to get ready to use some weapon or something if he didn't turn up there in twenty minutes."

"We have to stop her." Kion said, getting flustered.

Kion dashed out of sight in an instant, not giving Kiara or Kovu any time to have a say.

"Kion! Wait up!" Kovu called.

But Kion was already well out of range to hear him.

 **There's always something more isn't there? Hopefully they'll be bale to stop Jasiri from ending the world. So, what d'ya think of that one? Scar's dead (for good this time, I promise), and there are only three more chapters to go, so leave a review and tell me what you thought. And I'll be back with the next chapter in a couple of days.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Alright, three chapters to go. How will the lions stop Jasiri ending the world? Will they even do it in time? Well, enjoy.**

Chapter 29

Jasiri entered the empty tower of cloud. No Muuaji were inside. Then again there wouldn't be after she and Scar destroyed them all. Twenty minutes had passed and Scar was nowhere to be seen. That meant that Jasiri was to carry out her orders. What would be her final orders. She stared at the matter drive in the centre of the tower, its glowing light swirling everywhere. All she had to do was throw herself into it and the world would be destroyed by the blast. The mindless hyena got ready to propel her body into the air and land in the light. Nothing to stop her and no mind to think about herself. She took one step forwards but was interrupted by a voice that came from behind.

"Jasiri!"

Jasiri turned around and saw what was to her just another lion. If she had had free will she'd have recognised it as her old friend Kion.

"Don't do it." The golden lion pleaded.

"I must complete my mission." Jasiri replied, sounding very robotic.

"No you don't."

"Incorrect."

"But Jasiri-"

"Enough. I have my orders. I must destroy the world through self sacrifice. Now I will proceed."

Jasiri returned to the swirling glow in front of her. Kion was getting desperate to stop her from doing this. Not just because it would destroy the world, but because he still felt friendship for her. They'd come so far and it would be tragic if they failed now and Jasiri did this.

Jasiri got into a ready position but Kion once again stopped her.

"Jasiri, please. It's me, Kion. Don't you remember me?"

The hyena rotated back to Kion and stared with her vacant eyes. There was still no conscience in her head. If there was it was completely inaccessible to her.

"Ki... Kion..." She stuttered.

"Yes. It's me, Kion. Come on Jasiri, you remember me."

Jasiri blinked. The first time Kion had seen her blink since he saw her hypnotised. She blinked again, and again, and again. She then lowered her head and shook it side to side while making noises of what could only be described as distress.

"Jasiri. Please, remember. Remember me. Remember who you are." Kion pleaded again.

Jasiri continued to shake her head for a few moments before stopping, and just standing on the spot with her head lowered and her eyes tightly shut. She raised her head and opened her eyes, now looking at Kion.

"Kion?" She whimpered.

"Yes, it's me." Kion said with confidence in his voice.

"Oh Kion!"

Jasiri came bounding across the floor to Kion and hugged him tightly. Something she'd never done before.

"It was horrible, Kion. I wasn't in control of my mind and Scar was telling me to do all these things and I... I..."

"It's alright. Scar's dead now. The danger's gone. The Pridelands are safe again. It's alright." Comforted Kion.

"I'm glad it's finally over." Jasiri said.

Kiara and Kovu eventually came tearing through the cloud wall of the base and stopped behind Kion and Jasiri. Both were out of breath and panting.

"Kion... You could have... Waited for us you know." Kiara said between exasperated breaths.

"It's a good thing I didn't. I managed to make Jasiri snap out of it and stopped her from activating that thing." Kion pointed to the glowing thing in the middle of the base.

"So we're safe now?" Kovu asked. "At last?"

They indeed were safe now. Scar and Zira were dead, the Muuaji were gone and there was no one left that would try to use the matter drive.

"Lets head on back home to Pride rock. We can have a proper celebration there." Suggested Kiara.

The four of them then left the cloud tower and set a course for the only home they had ever known. Pride rock.

The Pridelands were safe again. The safest it had been since Mufasa had been in charge. Why did the best things always take ages to come around?

 **Why indeed? So, that's that. The conclusion. I hope you enjoyed it. There'll be two more chapters after this, one of which is an epilogue, but they won't be anything huge like previous chapters. So, leave a review (guest reviews too) and tell me what you thought. Tell me how happy you are that I didn't make Jasiri die cause I know you're thinking that, don't deny it.**

 **And the second to last chapter will be up in two days. See ya then.**


	30. Chapter 30

**And now a couple short chapters to round off this little series. Hope you like the ending.**

Chapter 30

That evening all the pride was gathered at Pride rock. What was left of the pride after the events that had taken place there over the last few days that is. It was the first big gathering they had had in a long time and one that was well overdue.

Many things were to change in this new era of the Peridelands' history. For the first time in generations hyenas would be allowed to share the lands with lions meaning Shenzi, Banzai, Ed and Jasiri would be living here from now on along with the rest of their clans from the Outlands. Fuli had been persuaded to stay by Kion and some other people that she'd become friends with. Meanwhile Kiara and Kovu were over joyous that their daughter had finally found the lion who would become her mate in the future, Mpenzi. Add to that the discovery that some of the animal herds had survived the carnage, rather miraculously, but they'd survived nonetheless.

Kiara and Kovu stood at the front of the gathering, all attention on them.

"We have suffered many great losses over the last few years." Kiara said in a speech like manner. "But now we can finally recover from that and rebuild this place. We shall restore the Pridelands to its former glory in no time, I'm sure."

Kovu took over after that.

"Starting tomorrow we will make the first changes to our society and make it a fresh, bold new start. I hope that you will all make a contribution to this new version of the Pridelands and make it the best place for everyone."

The rest of the evening was filled with both celebrations of the pride's victory and reminiscing for those that had die in order for the others to get to this point.

When it was time for the pride to settle down for the night the sleeping arrangements were a bit different. The hyenas were out in their own new territory as they'd been promised. Kion and Vitani slept together as usual but with the addition of Fuli near them, Tiifu and Zuri were next to each other over in their small section of the cave, and Kiara and Kovu were with Maisha who in turn had invited Mpenzi over to sleep with them.

"Mum, dad. Tomorrow can you teach me and Mpenzi about being in charge of the Pridelands?" Maisha asked.

"Of course, sweetie." Kiara replied.

"Thanks." Maisha said.

' _If only Simba and Nala could see me now.'_ Kiara thought to herself. She'd come a long way over the years. Starting out as a curious and rebellious cub and now she had transformed into a caring, sensible and brilliant lioness with a family of her own and a whole kingdom at her command. How proud they would be.

The Pridelands had been around for six generations. And it was going to be around for many more to come.

Just as Kiara was laying her head down to go to sleep she thought she heard a quiet voice speak to her.

 _Well done my little Kiara. We're both so proud of you. We are one._

 **Happy ending, aye. That's what everyone likes to see. So, what did you think of this? Bare in mind there's still one more chapter to go but it's only a very short epilogue. Leave a review of what you thought and I'll be back in a couple days with the epilogue. I think You'll all be satisfied with it. See ya.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Here we are, at the end of the road. I can't really believe this series has finished already. I know it's been going for (not quite) a year but time doesn't half fly when you're having fun, (or in this case, writing these). Anyway, here's just a short little epilogue chapter to round things off in a nice way. And I mean SHORT. By the way, there'll be an important note at the end of this. Enjoy.**

Chapter 31

Epilogue

It was another bright, sunny morning in the Pridelands as the king and queen gazed out at their magnificent kingdom from atop the ledge of their home. It had taken a lot of effort but the Pridelands was now fully restored and functioning as it always should have done. Maisha and Mpenzi stood side by side and surveyed their kingdom. Mpenzi licked his mate on the cheek and Maisha felt a kick from the cub inside her, joy filling her mind.

"We've made it." She whispered.

"I know." Mpenzi replied.

And the two of them returned to taking in the breathtaking view, knowing that only good times lay ahead.

* * *

Meanwhile behind Pride rock. A small white mouse scuttled around on a grey slab of rock sticking out of the ground. The slab was old and covered in moss but the words on it were still readable. They read:

' _In memory of Kiara and Kovu, fifth king and queen of the Pridelands._ '

And beside it were some more slabs of similar shape and size, each displaying a similar kind of message with the names Simba, Nala, Kion, Vitani, Fuli, Rafiki, Mufasa, Sarabi and Leela on them.

Then the mouse hurried away, looking for some food for its lunch. And totally unaware of the significance and history of the stones it had just walked across.

 **And there you have it , my friends. The conclusion to this epic four-part series. So what did you think of this story and the series as a whole? Let me know in the form of a review. You can't not review the last chapter after all.**

 **Also an important note:**

 **So now that this series has ended you might be asking me 'What next?'**

 **Well, I can say that I plan to do more Lion King stories down the line. I'm currently working on a Resident Evil story though and also a co-authored Lion King story so it'll be some time before I write another Lion King solo fic. Perhaps I'll do a few shorts every now and then to tide us over, who knows? But I will definitely be back with another Lion King fic at some point, don't you worry about that, it's just me taking a break for now.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed this story and the series overall and I hope to be back in a few months with the next 'masterpiece' (can we really call it that? I'm not sure). But till then, um... Have a good day I guess. Bye.**


End file.
